Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Sadly, our COVID cases are on the rise; will
we get the vaccine before a second lock down?
Our hospitality and tourism industry has taken the brunt of the economic fallout.
Stats show that, since the relaxation of rules to level one, there has been
some improvement in business levels. Though slow, we are seeing signs of
recovery. Our biggest fear is a second lockdown, which could spell further disaster
for an industry that is still teetering on the edge.
To encourage people to go out and discover their country, SA Tourism has started
its Summer Different road trip campaign. The intention is to boost interest in local
tourism and subsequently increase hospitality sector revenue. South Africans have
been traveling locally and by all expectations, KZN coast will get a boost in
December. Camping and caravanning has shown a revival; perhaps indicating the
need to holiday on a budget.
Our hotels, conferencing and events market requires fluid business travel. Standing
orders for most large corporations are still ‘stay at home, travel only when essential
and save costs.’ The question still unanswered; will big business return to their
head office buildings? Are executives Zoomed out, Teams tired and ready to
liberate themselves from home-base?
A final thought:
In Physics: Newton’s third law states, ‘For every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction’ Perhaps this rule may be true of forces intrinsic to human
nature. We need to gather, socialise, negotiate, touch, experience, participate and
meet face-to-face. The action of enforced isolation will be succeeded by an equal
and opposite reaction of TRAVEL; at least we hope so.
Stephen is a hospitality professional from Johannesburg South Africa. His career started with THF hotels in the UK and subsequently with the Southern Sun Hotel group in Johannesburg. Hickmore Recruitment / CareerMap, is a leading supplier of Senior and Exec recruitment services for the hospitality industry in Southern Africa. Stephen recently added career change services, headlining as CareerMap, to assist job applicants. Â Stephen is a founder and business developer of Pple Hospitality (formerly HSC) the largest Hospitality Industry full-service outsourced staffing company in South Africa. In March 2020 Stephen became a director and part-owner of the Swiss Hotel School South Africa. Stephen writes for a number of publications on food and hospitality industry matters, trends and opinions.
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