#ROADTORECOVERY
There is light at the end of the tunnel as the South African tourism industry stands united! “This year has brought the tourism industry and the communities that we serve closer together. When we emerge from this pandemic, our industry will be stronger and more resilient than ever before.” ~ Enver Duminy, the chief executive of Cape Town Tourism. “It will recover. It will be a long and slow recovery, but it will happen. The recovery will come about through meaningful sector collaborations and partnerships, ensuring that we work together towards an inclusive recovery.” ~ Sisa Ntshona, the chief executive of South African Tourism.

AIRLINK ADDS FLIGHTS TO MAPUTO AND LUBUMBASHI
Airlink recently announced that the airline will add flights to its Maputo in Mozambique and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to the rising demand for air travel between those cities and South Africa. The flights will take off from 1 April 2021. “Since the airline launched services linking Johannesburg with Maputo and with Lubumbashi last October and November respectively, there has been a steady increase in passenger traffic on those two routes. By increasing our schedule on these routes, we will cater to the increased demand while providing more choices to customers wanting to travel to destinations across South Africa and throughout Southern Africa. The additional services will let travellers connect with Airlink’s flights linking Johannesburg with Cape Town, Durban and other important business and tourist destinations within South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.” ~ Rodger Foster, Airlink CEO and Managing Director.

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS RUGBY TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA IS ON
It was confirmed on 23 March by SA Rugby and the British & Irish Lions that the Castle Lager Lions Series will go ahead in South Africa in the scheduled playing window from July to August 2021. COVID-19 regulations will be out in place for the tour although whether spectators will be allowed is not known at this point. “We appreciate the Lions’ faith and share their desire to see a safe and successful tour. We have been in regular contact with our government to make that a reality against the backdrop of the pandemic and its predicted progression over the coming months.” ~ Mark Alexander, President of the South African Rugby Union.

SOUTH AFRICA’S #ROADTORECOVERY
We are excited to share the news that South Africa has claimed 2nd place in domestic business travel recovery globally. New Zealand leads the way when it comes to domestic business travel recovery and South Africa has received second place in the race to recovery, reaching up to 25% of pre-Covid travel volumes. The white paper examines the current state of the travel market across all their regions and the challenges facing corporate travel in 2021, including government restrictions, lack of content availability, a tightening of approval processes, stringent health requirements and a hesitancy to travel. New Zealand saw the strongest recovery with domestic travel reaching 80% of pre-Covid volumes, followed by South Africa and France at 25%. South America and the Nordics reached between 15% and 20% recovery, while the US and Switzerland remain constrained with between just 1% and 10% recovery.

NORTH WEST: VALLEY OF WAVES SHUTDOWN DATES
The Valley of Waves will be closed from 31 May 2021 to 7 July 2021 for annual maintenance. Sun International is committed to protecting the health and safety of employees and customers. To achieve this, they have initiated processes that ensure that they are equipped to mitigate and control risks.

  • Click here to view Sun International protocols.
  • Click here to view the COVID-19 Policy & Health Plan.

ZIMBABWE: VACCINE ROLLOUT AT VIC FALLS
Zimbabwe is set to vaccinate all Victoria Falls residents to help kick start tourism. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the country’s second phase of the vaccination program in the resort town of Victoria Falls on Wednesday 24 March. “This vaccination exercise will pave way for the resumption of unlimited tourism activities in the city which is a world attraction.” ~ Constantino Chiwenga, Vice President and Health Minister.


Click on the links for more information

Eastern Cape
Grahamstown National Arts Festival from 24 June to 4 July 2021

Gauteng
2021 British & Irish Lions tour to SA from 3 July – 7 August 2021

Mpumalanga
Forever Loskop Marathon on 17 April 2021
Dullstroom Arts Festival from 18 – 20 June 2021

Western Cape
SONA (State of the Nation Address) Date to be confirmed
2021 British & Irish Lions tour to SA from 3 July – 7 August 2021
Annual Oil Week from 1 – 5 November 2021


PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Please note that our offices will be closed on the following Public Holidays:
2 April 2021 (Friday) – Good Friday
5 April 2021 (Monday) – Family Day
27 April 2021 (Tuesday) – Freedom Day