Positive feedback gives hope to tourism rebound

Letters of gratitude from foreign nationals thanking the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency for a wonderful stay has given hope that the tourism sector will survive the coronavirus outbreak.

That was the word from the agency’s CEO, Vuyani Dayimani,  who said the tourism sector — like so many others — had been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

He said with travel restrictions, event cancellations and the closure of tourism businesses and attractions had had a severe effect that would  be felt for a long time.

But, he said, a series of special letters had shown that there were many tourists who loved SA and who were determined to return. 

The agency shared a few of the letters that had given them a glimmer of hope this week with one, signed Alex and Theresa from Germany, saying they did not take lightly the interventions by the various authorities who had helped them get home. 

The couple said they had spent two weeks during the lockdown at  Wild Lubanzi Backpackers Lodge on the Wild Coast.

In their letter, they write about their initial excursion — which started in Cape Town and continued along the Garden Route — before the negotiation, waiting, and finally their 11-hour flight home.

After the lockdown was announced, the pair had an anxious wait.

“Only some days later we got the positive information that the German embassy, the SA government and South African Airways found an agreement to bring German people back home soon,” they wrote, adding that they had driven for 13 hours from Lubanzi to Pretoria where their SA hosts were very helpful. 

“We are happy to be back in Germany and hope that SA will manage this crisis.

“We would be extremely happy to visit your beautiful country again soon!” they wrote. 

Paddy, from Switzerland, was also at Lubanzi and had arrived two days before the lockdown.

“I will be back. I lost my heart in Africa and I love the wild nature and the authentic culture on the Eastern Cape and Wild Coast.

“It is for sure one of the most beautiful places in the world. And there is much to explore,” he wrote.

Paddy, who spent part of the lockdown in SA, said he had loved his experience.

He wrote: “I decided to stay ... because I had a lot more freedom here with the garden than back home, even if the lockdown here is really hard, especially [because] the government doesn’t allow alcohol and cigarettes ... are they mad?”

With the lockdown extended, Paddy flew home on April 9. 

Dayimani said: “The support received from foreign tourists on their appreciation of our tourism offerings from a country and provincial context brings hope that we truly are in this together.

“The hospitality of the Eastern Cape tourism products, their service and general thoughtfulness echoes from across the globe and we couldn’t be more proud.”