TOURISM minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says that South African tourism businesses have been particularly hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic because of their focus on international travellers.
In a media briefing at the launch of the new Hotel Sky in Cape Town, Kubayi-Ngubane said that unlike other parts of the world, before the pandemic, international tourism contributed more than domestic tourism to South Africa’s total tourism income.
“For this reason, a large proportion of our supply market was geared towards international tourism and with the closure of travel globally, this market suffered severely,” she said.
“Although over the period that the pandemic has been with us this market has been shifting its focus to domestic tourism, much of this market is still battling to transform their business models.”
The primary area of concern for domestic travellers in most of the attractions that have an international focus has been exorbitant prices, she said.
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