Articles tagged “south africa”

Is the shoe now on the other foot? South Africa’s new tourism campaign push comes just as its industry begins to see green shoots of recovery ahead, in contrast to the uncertainty that now hangs over European destinations.

Not only did the travel bans force widespread cancellations for South Africans planning to go abroad during the country's summer, but they may also represent the death knell for many tourism businesses that had already been significantly hit hard by the initial blast of Covid.

The discovery of a new Covid variant has sparked panic across the globe and left many event professionals dealing with mass cancellations. While it’s still early days, it’s crucial to unpack Omicron’s impact on our industry and understand how we can move forward. 

Work to transform diversity and inclusion, particularly in tourism, takes guts — like South Africa’s groundbreaking new public-private fund for Black-owned tourism projects. It might just be precedent-setting.

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.

In coronavirus-related travel stories this week, Skift covered the divergent views among Marriott, Accor, American and United about the shape of the travel recovery, the anguish of travel's lost summer, contactless tech as the next big thing, and how tour guides will be at the forefront of safety measures.

South Africa is understandably cautious as it approaches winter, and doing all it can to stave off a health crisis. But its strict and prolonged protocols might end up doing more harm than good.

South African tourism is on the decline. There are several factors at play, but given the diversity of experiences that can be had in this country of 58 million people, what's needed is a new and sharper narrative.