The coronavirus, which has so far killed 910 people globally and infected more than 40 000 mainly in mainland China coupled with the recent SAA flight cancelations will not heavily impact the tourism sector, according to a senior government official.
"From tourism’s point of view, the first principle is to say it doesn't matter how they come, whether by air, by road, by donkey, as long as the tourists are here,” Minister of Tourism Mmamoloko Kubayi Ngubane was quoted as saying by Fin24.
“As a sector we are not de-focused because we've got to work with all the airlines that exist. It's a different response when I speak as a patriotic South African.
"But when I speak as minister of tourism, my responsibility is to say all the airlines are important and where there are gaps, we hope SAA will [pass] those licenses to those who can give the people [services].".
She said cancellations of SAA flights was a communication issue and was hoping that the national airline would communicate better with the tourism department for them to "plan better as a sector".
SA Tourism chief executive Sisa Ntshona also said the situation at SAA is being closely monitored.
"As soon as SAA announced that they are no longer flying Joburg and Sao Paolo, Latam Airlines increased the frequency... that is [closing] the gap, essentially,” he said.
“We are always in contact with the airlines to see how we can assist them to actually get [there]."
Ntshona said 15 delegates from China will no longer be able enter South Africa for the Meetings Africa conference due on February 24 to 26.
"We had a cancellation of 15 delegates coming from China. It actually forced us to start thinking differently - a bit more innovatively to see how do we use technology as an enabler to get you in the room without being in the room," he said.
