Durban - The hospitality and gaming industries have welcomed the further easing of lockdown regulations announced on Wednesday by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which allows them to resume operations.
Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa chief executive Lee Zama said Wednesday's announcement, along with the reopening of tourism for business travel at the beginning of the month, was crucial for businesses in the sector.
“This is a bit of a lifeline, which comes at the near end. Businesses have been battling with no revenue, but still have fixed costs to cover. Some did not receive payouts from the business continuity insurance claims made.
“We have had the damaging impact from this pandemic with booking cancellations, some going as far back as January. Only takeaways were allowed for restaurants; this will never be sufficient to cover the costs of running a restaurant operation, and that is why some businesses opted not to open at this level. The general opening of the sector is highly welcomed,” he said.
Zama said although reopening more sectors of the economy was welcome, recovery for the industry was expected to take a while with international travel restricted.
First Group, a hotel and resort chain with properties across KZN, expressed relief at being able to welcome guests again.
Managing director Shaun Lamont said guests’ safety would be at the forefront for their establishments.
“Staff will return to work gradually, taking into consideration the occupancy levels. The resort staff, food and beverage team and sales teams will be reinstated over the next few weeks, as demand and occupancies increase.”
Casino and hospitality giant Sun International announced it would be ready to reopen once a date is announced.
Chief operating officer: hospitality, Graham Wood, said the group would conduct a phased opening of their properties.
“Once we reopen, we will conduct temperature tests for all customers at our hospitality, leisure and gaming operations, and all guests will need to complete a medical screening questionnaire on arrival at hotels, and in advance for casino visitors.
“For the foreseeable future, only members of our loyalty programme - our MVGs (Most Valued Guests) - will be allowed access on to the casino floor,” said Wood.