Yesterday, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane outlined the new regulations across our industry, including accommodation rules for South Africa under the new level 2 lockdown. Whilst the country’s level 3 lockdown will largely remain in place, the exception is the eased rules around inter-provincial travel for leisure purposes, with all accommodation facilities allowed to accept visitors from outside of their province as well as bars, and tourism activities opened.

Also, minister Kubayi-Ngubane stated that breakfast and reception areas at accommodation venues must ensure a 50% or less occupancy of floor space.

The 50% floor capacity space refers specifically to shared public spaces and not occupancy. That means, an establishment may have 100% occupancy, with no more than two people sharing a room, with the exceptions of a ‘nuclear family’. However, all establishments must continue to strictly adhere to the restrictions on gatherings as per the level 2 lockdown rules when it comes to shared public spaces such as lobbies, reception areas and other public spaces within an establishment. The 50% floor space does not apply to restaurants as these are governed by 1.5m social distancing directive among others.

We must ensure that our members are compliant with the regulations and protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The message of adherence to protocols should be sent far and wide to ensure faster adoption and practice of protocols across the entire value chain of travel and tourism.

The work on opening the international inbound, increasing conference and events venues capacity continues.