Easing of Tourism Industry Restrictions Under Level 3
On 30 July 2020, the Minister for Tourism gave a speech on the relaxation of certain lockdown measures affecting the tourism industry. Subsequently, these announced changes have been released in a Government gazette, meaning that you are now allowed to do the actions referred to in the speech. In the blog today we will be picking out the key aspects of the speech and explaining what exactly you can now do under level 3 of lockdown.
Restaurants
The nine o’clock curfew has had a greater adverse impact on the restaurant industry in comparison to most others. This restriction has had the effect of limiting the number of prospective customers at one of the busiest periods for restaurants.
Responding to this, the Government has extended curfews to 10pm, thus accommodating later dinner services.
Leisure Accommodation
Restrictions to domestic and leisure travel have resulted in a large, if not total, shrinkage in business for accommodation establishments.
As of 1 August, if you are an accommodation establishment, you will be able to welcome customers from within your own province. We must emphasise that this easing is only for intra-provincial travel, i.e. no travel between provinces for leisure purposes. There are also the following two provisos:
- No more than two people per room is allowed (except for parents staying in a room with their children).
- Short term home rentals and home sharing remains closed.
Safari Tour Operators
Prior to the new Regulations, only self-driven safari tours were permitted under level 3. The changes mean that if you are a tour operator, you can carry out open air guided tours, subject to certain directions.
COVID-19 Loan Guarantee Scheme
Use of the newly revised COVID-19 Loan Guarantee scheme was encouraged by the Minister in her speech. The new revisions aim to make it easier for companies in all sectors to access loans for operational costs, on preferential terms. You can now also apply for business restart loans to assist you in the costs of reopening your business.
More information on the scheme and the changes in requirements can be found in this official guide.
Tourism Sector Recovery Plan
On 1 August, a draft of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan was released for public comment. Subject to amendments, this provides you with a roadmap for how the Department for Tourism aims to navigate through the coming months.
Reading the draft recovery plan should give you a better understanding of the Department for Tourism’s strategy for rejuvenating the tourism sector is. If you want to give any input on the recovery plan, this must be sent to recovery@tourism.gov.za by 15 August 2020.
We hope that you have found the above information useful. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at info@simplepay.co.za.
Equally, if you are not yet a client of SimplePay but would like to be, or if you’d like to know how we can take the effort out of filing and calculating payroll, get in contact with us or visit our website.
Keep well and stay safe.
Team SimplePay