Hoedspruit hopeful for UK tourists
As of Monday, October 11 travelling agencies, lodges and places accommodating tourists were beaming with excitement as South Africa was officially taken off the United Kingdom's (UK) Covid-19 travel red list.
This means British travellers will not be obligated to quarantine in hotels upon return. Hoedspruit being a tourist attraction, local establishments also breathed a sigh of relief as it meant getting international visitors.
The owner of Lindiwe Safari Lodge, Nathalie Moriaux told the Herald that this came as good news to them.
“This is great news, now we need all the European countries to do the same. The tourists from the UK are just a part of our business and this means tourists will come back when 80 % of the population of South Africa will be totally vaccinated,” she said.
Nathalie said since tourism open again after the hard lockdown, they have only been welcoming local visitors especially on weekends. “We need international guests so that we can start working every day. It was and it’s still a hard time for tourism. South Africa is an amazing country, it needs to take the first rank in the European’s bucket list,” she said.
Also read: Five tips for healthy air travel
Meanwhile, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu has welcomed the UK government’s decision to remove SA from its red list. “We are delighted to see the UK restrictions on travel to South Africa lifted, following a successful vaccine rollout in South Africa and continued decline in new Covid-19 cases.
“We look forward to welcoming our British visitors in time for the South African summer season and we will continue to work tirelessly with all our national and international partners to ensure the success of South Africa’s tourism recovery,” said Sisulu.
The minister said South Africa remains open for international travel, with ease of air travel connectivity to all major cities and the rest of the Southern African region. According to UK’s government website, over 430,000 British tourists visited South Africa in 2019.
