South Africa: Hotel Market Update

By Michelé de Witt on September 28, 2020

Market Report South Africa

On 26 March 2020 as we said our goodbyes to colleagues, we did not foresee that six months later many hotels across South Africa would remain closed.

It was not until June 2020 that accommodation establishments were permitted to accept domestic business travelers and August 2020 when both leisure and business domestic travel was permitted. The industry eagerly awaits the arrival of October 1st, 2020 when the country’s borders will open; albeit with some restrictions. With both Public and Private sector spending likely to remain constrained for the foreseeable future, recovery of the South African tourism industry is only anticipated toward the end of 2022/ early 2023.

The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the health of the South African population appears to be much less severe than was originally feared while the impact of the Government-imposed lockdown on the economy continues to see much worse outcomes than originally expected.

M de Witt

About the author

Michelé de Witt mdewitt@horwathhtl.com