A social, economic and ecological apocalypse must be avoided by reopening parks
Fine print gives rise to a paradoxical situation — the lockdown prevented infections on which insurance payouts are now contingentThough the effect is vast and hard to quantify, everyone knows the Covid-19 shutdown of the tourism industry is wreaking havoc on businesses and value chains reliant on travel and tourism.
Allowing for leisure travel while still prohibiting interprovincial travel is a non-starter for any tourism operation outside the large urban centres — safari tourism businesses in particular. In addition, the tourism minister announced on June 26 that licensed accommodation facilities areallowed to open for leisure travel, but only for business travel! This is in conflict with the published amendments to the regulations and is creating confusion and frustration among tourism establishments.
So, for example, a Johannesburg-based business should not be able to claim for a cholera outbreak in Cape Town. Is our shutdown by government authorities a direct consequence of an infectious disease? Absolutely. Are any of the tourism businesses forced into shutdown doing so as a result of anything other than a notifiable disease? Absolutely not. Is the insurance industry protecting its profits in a time when it should be helping to save an entire sector? We rest our case.
A study on the economic gains of the Greater Kruger in 2016/2017 and published in 2019 found that its total GDP contribution was R6,6bn, with about 22,300 people employed and a wage bill of more than R3.4bn. With the average employee in the rural lowveld region supporting up to 10 people, the overall economic reach of the park is nearly 250,000 people.
Despite the shutdown and zero income, the tourism sector has been remarkably proactive. In response to the Covid emergency we sprang into action and worked tirelessly with our NGO and government partners to help co-ordinate effective responses to the crisis in the Lowveld.
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