The world's economy has taken a beating over the last two years with international travel being hit the hardest.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation said that the onset of the pandemic brought on the worst year in travel history with over a billion fewer tourists in 2020 than the previous year.
South Africa was not spared the carnage. SA Tourism reported just under 1.3 million international tourist arrivals in 2020 compared to 9.78 million arrivals in 2019. Only a million more tourists were estimated to have visited our shores in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Sbusiso Mhlongo, owner of Profound Travel and Tours based in Pinetown, west of Durban, said that the sector was slowly recovering from the pandemic in 2021.
“We thought it was getting better, travel restrictions were being lifted and people wanted to get out and explore again. But then the July riots happened and set us back 10 steps,” he said.
July 9, 2021 saw the beginnings of what proved to be the worst acts of looting, rioting and public violence the country has seen since apartheid. The provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal descended into chaos, allegedly stemming from the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.
A month after the riots, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed an expert panel to review the government’s response to the public protests and civil unrest that rocked the country.
The report on “The Spate of Orchestrated Public Violence, Destruction and Sabotage in July 2021” found that over 300 people had lost their lives and thousands were injured by the end of the week of unrest. An estimated R50 billion was wiped off the South African economy in 10 days.
The riots unleashed another salvo on the already ailing South African tourism industry. Roads were impassable, shopping centres and warehouses, town centres and suburbs were laid to waste. Not exactly a safe and welcoming state of affairs for tourists.
Mhlongo said that he lost close to R100 000 in cancelled bookings over the July school holiday period and experienced a 70% drop in bookings in the three months after the riots took place.
“Our business is based in Marriannhill, north of Durban. It was one of the epicentres of the unrest in KZN. The business is still in operation but we were not able to recover the losses sustained during that period. Although the government compensated for physical damages, the loss of income due to non-tangible impacts was not considered,” said Mhlongo.
Justin Perumal of La Mercy-based Wild Routes Safaris said that his business had incurred losses of R20 000 in cancelled bookings and immeasurable damage to the image of KZN and South Africa as a tourism destination.
Nigel Ward, the president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC, told the Daily News that based on their observations, some businesses had started rebuilding with some already operating at full capacity, while others were still in the process of rebuilding.
“Following engagements with our colleagues in the private sector, we believe business leaders are committed to rebuilding their operations in Durban. Therefore, we continue to work closely with the government to ensure adequate support is given to the private sector to fast-track the rebuilding process,” he said.
Ward said he strongly believed that the government and law enforcement needed to take a firmer approach when tackling unlawful situations, and added that accountability needed to be taken.
“We need to see criminal unlawful behaviour being punished, prosecuted and brought to justice to avoid history repeating itself. The government needs to work with the business community to find collaborative, proactive and sustainable solutions,” he said.
Video: Mlungisi Mbele
Speaking at the establishment of “Operation Siyahlola”, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said that the July 2021 social unrest left many households in untold suffering and desperation.
The premier undertook the operation last Friday in order to assess progress in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the sites that were destroyed during the unrest and looting that took place last year.
Addressing media on what the provincial government, along with its business partners, are doing to rebuild the province, Zikalala said that “just when the province thought it had ridden the storm, the April floods reminded citizens, yet again, how vulnerable they are to the vagaries of the fast-changing global weather patterns.
“These external shocks had a severe socio-economic impact on the economy of KwaZulu-Natal, resulting in low economic growth and unemployment breaching the 30% mark in the third a quarter of 2020.
“Until now, poverty levels had risen sharply and billions worth of rands were wiped off the economy due to infrastructure damage, company liquidations and loss of household income,” Zikalala said.
Video: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency
Although the province has been experiencing more than a few trials and tribulations over the past two years, the economic outlook is not looking too bad.
“Our GDP grew by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2022, although output is still lower than the pre-Covid levels. Our unemployment rate marginally declined in the first quarter of 2022 from 35% to 34.5%. Major investments have come through to our shores, indicating the confidence that investors still have in our economy,” Zikalala said.
The lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings and mask-wearing would help the tourism industry immensely, as proven by the huge boost to Durban tourism brought on by the Durban July.
“The return of airlines such as South African Airways, Turkish, Qatar, and new routes such as Durban-Harare, Durban-eSwatini, are expected to boost tourism further.
“The sovereign credit rating agency, S&P Global, has upgraded its outlook for South Africa to positive from stable, which is a welcome development for the economy of KwaZulu-Natal,” the premier concluded.
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