Durban Pushing Hard for Quick Tourism Recovery to Help South Africa's Economy
Skift Take
Durban was a rare source of growth for South Africa's tourism economy in 2019, but leaders have to be vigilant against an early reopening of international borders sparking a case surge and becoming a drag on the region's reputation.
South Africa reopened its borders to international travelers earlier this month, as travel leaders in a city on the country’s eastern coast argue tourism is crucial to delivering the country a full economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Durban — South Africa’s third-largest city — may not be as historically popular with tourists as Cape Town or Johannesburg. But the metropolitan area, with roughly 3.7 million people, was a pre-pandemic tourism bright spot at a time when inbound tourism into South Africa was on the decline.
While Durban wasn’t spared from the pandemic, business leaders are optimistic reopening borders can deliver an accelerated recovery timeline without running the risk of losing control of the virus.
“We need this tourism. That’s all we’ve been trying to say. It’s not a bad call. Just make sure Americans come with certificates saying they don’t have the disease — just like they’ve been strict with us on Ebola,” said Lee Zamekile Zama, CEO of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa. “We do believe if there’s any growth in the South African industry, it can only come from tourism. It has the greatest potential to bounce back from this compared to most industries.”
International tourism to South Africa was down nearly 12 percent in 2019, sparked by reports of crime, a drought in the Western Cape province — home to Cape Town —and even the growing tourist appeal of other African countries like Namibia and Ethiopia.
Durban bucked the trend. The Kwazulu-Natal province where Durban is located saw international tourist arrivals increase by more than 17 percent in 2019, according to the organization South African Tourism. But the growth momentum wasn’t enough to offset the worst year on record for travel.
South Africa and other African countries have generally fared better during the pandemic than places like the U.S. and countries in Europe. South Africa’s 745,000-case total, as of Nov. 13, puts it between Iran and Germany and well below the 10.6 million cases reported so far in the U.S. But Durban officials agreed with the South African government that a national lockdown
