African Wildlife & Environment Issue 77 FINAL ISSUE

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

for the domestic market so that lodge owners at least get some money, rather than nothing. It has been emphasised that for certain upmarket safari lodges, it is not worth their while to open up for fewer, lower paying guests, because their overheads are just too high. The exchange rate of the Rand with international currencies has made travel extremely attractive for the international tourist market historically, but unfortunately with the international ban on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic this has ground to a halt.

had to scale back their security efforts purely due to a lack of funds, with the possible risks being very evident. Many safari lodges have had to resort to essential skeleton staff or even retrench their staff and this has had a big knock-on effect. Assuming that the domestic and international tourist market does open up, it will take many years before these lodges can recoup their losses and meaningfully contribute to the conservation and counter-poaching efforts again. The

Even when the travel ban is eventually lifted, the threat of infection might limit the amount of international tourists, but it is critical that strict measures are put in place to expedite this and the confidence in the South African tourist markets is restored. The World Travel and Tourism Council has predicted that once the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak is over, it could take at least 10 months for the industry to recover. It must be noted that the tourism industry is a major contributor to the South African economy and employment of its people. The tourism sector

conservation levies that tourists have been paying when visiting a protected area have contributed immensely to the operational budgets and this critical income has now dried up. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the 2018 contribution of the tourism sector in South Africa amounted to R139 billion, and this was projected to peak at R145 billion for 2019. This makes the tourism sector a larger contributor than agriculture, but smaller than other industries such as mining and construction. The tourism industry has many spinoffs, and in particular contributes to the upliftment of poorer communities in rural areas adjacent to protected areas. There is a clear distinction between international tourist spending and the domestic tourist spending which has been highlighted now, where up market safari lodges have lost all their patrons due to the travel bans. More emphasis could be placed on the domestic market now, as the travel bans are lifted firstly intra-provincially and then inter-provincially, to possibly lower the normally exorbitant rates

contributes about 9% to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the international tourism industry currently accounts for 10% of global GDP.The World Travel and Tourism Council has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could cut 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism industry. Serious repercussions on a global scale! Some of the other directly linked industries to tourism are the airlines, shuttle services, taxis, restaurants, local tourist curio shops, hotels, B & Bs and many other related tourist attractions that an international tourist would also contribute to with their international spending currency. In South Africa we are so dependent on a healthy, thriving tourism industry, and even on a global scale Antonio Guterres the Secretary-General of the United Nations said: “The tourism sector has been affected most severely by the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel is down, fear is up, and the future is uncertain. Tourism is an essential pillar for the 2030 sustainable development goals, the livelihoods

29 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 77 (2020)