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Nobody is happier than me to report good news, and there is currently much of it about the Travel and Tourism industry worldwide. One sees many articles about positive growth, the industry returning to pre-covid levels and great predictions for 2025, and being a half glass full kind of person, I welcome these reports and will do everything in my power to ensure that this year realises this positive growth, especially here in South Africa. As a seasoned professional, however, I have also learned that when one tries to hold up a crystal ball to predict the future, one needs to always factor in the unexpected.
‘Sunny’ Spain as all the songs say, would not have imagined a few years ago that due to global warming it is now facing heatwaves and has to find ways to keep customers cool if they are to keep on coming. Many other parts of Europe, for that matter, especially the global tourism hotspots, might not have predicted during the COVID-19 pandemic, that they would be facing overtourism within a few years of such great proportions that steps need to be taken to curb tourism in their regions.
The aid withdrawal issue
Here in South Africa, we too have had a few curved balls to face but probably none as significant as the recent decision by the USA to withdraw funding and place tariffs on many of our organisations and industries. Possibly many people don’t realise the far reaching impact that this will have on all South Africans and how Travel and Tourism will be affected. The most attention on the news has been on the withdrawal of AIDS funding, and rightfully so, as this is a critical issue and the withdrawal will probably be adding another 2,000 job losses to what now stands at around 9,000 in the healthcare sector. The impact goes beyond this though, affecting entire ecosystems of organisations and research initiatives across South Africa and the broader African continent.
This will directly affect corporate travel due to reduced funding for aid organisations, which affects travel related to aid-funded programs, and there will be a potential reduction in international research collaborations. Our industry will be impacted by various knock-on factors, but the one that disturbs me most of all, and which could have serious implications for our wildlife conservation efforts, is the withdrawal of conservation funding.
In a recent article I read comment from Kish Chetty, Head of Sustainability at the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), who when speaking about the poaching crisis said, “The withdrawal of global funding and reduced international commitment to combating this crisis will weaken enforcement, anti-poaching efforts and community-based conservation initiatives, making it easier for trafficking syndicates to operate”. So one can now see that the withdrawal of funding goes way beyond just a few job losses and lost revenue – it threatens our very eco-system and the a flagship component of our Travel and Tourism sector.
Remaining positive whilst watching our backs
Having said all that, I’m proud to say however, that South Africans seem to be a pretty resilient bunch, and as we celebrate our ‘Human Rights Day’ this month, we are reminded that we tend to keep fighting for what we believe in until we get it. I believe that as long as we have this attitude we can sustain the many blows that may come our way, but we should never rest on our laurels, and whenever things start looking rosy, we should always just check that we are not looking through rose-tinted glasses.
Yes, I believe we are in for a good year in Travel and Tourism, but we are still facing many restrictions, and unfortunately, like the withdrawal of USA funding, challenges that will come from left field. Will these (dare I say it?) ‘trump’ the positive trends for Travel and Tourism in 2025? I doubt it, but they will take a toll so let’s continue to stand tall, but always with feet firmly planted on the ground so that when the blows come, they may knock us onto the back foot, but never down and out!
LIDIA FOLLI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
