While there was a steady recovery for South Africa’s accommodation sector after the lifting of regulations for lockdown Alert Level 3 in August last year, by December income generated across the accommodation sector was still 60% lower when compared with 2019.
This was highlighted in the Road to Recovery Volume 2 report published by South African Tourism this month, emphasising the struggle that formal establishments are facing.
“In addition to reduced income for establishments which managed to keep their doors open, a count of how many establishments have had to close their doors has been difficult to ascertain,” said SA Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona.
He pointed out that reduced total income was driven not only by reduced occupancies but by decreased average daily rates which, on average, are approximately 25% lower when compared with 2019.
Bucking this trend are the segments of Caravanning/Camping and Guest Houses/Guest Farms, which have managed to maintain their average daily rates, while still seeing recovery in occupancy.
