The town, which mainly comprises of restaurants, inns, guesthouses and craft stores, took a severe financial knock that has been too hard to recover from for most small business owners.

Ryno Mey, a co-owner of Cinzaco, a company that comprises of three guest houses, told www.mobserver.co.za that his company, much like everybody else’s, received no form of income since 27 March until 3 May.

He explained that the village, which is a tourism mecca, relies heavily on tourists who do the panorama route throughout Mpumalanga.

Since the implementation of level 3, a dribble of essential workers trickled in, making use of the guest houses as accommodation, but Mey explained that the slow stream of customers was a drop in the ocean, after two and a half months of gathered expenses.

•The Mayfly Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, which has been a landmark in the small cultural village for over 15 years, has also taken a knock.

Owner, Gareth Gravell, said that 15 years of dedication to his business prompted him to ‘bite the bullet’. Refusing to retrench any of his staff members led to him having to take out a loan. As lockdown eased slightly, the Mayfly opened for deliveries, which Gareth delivered himself, as his staff only returned to work two days ago.

The economic crisis took a bite of nearly 90% out of his monthly turnover and the Mayfly is the only form of income for him and his family.

Despite the strenuous circumstances, Gareth says the Mayfly is open for business and has taken in its first seated customers on Monday. He attests to seeing tremendous support from the community, which saw him through during the last two months.

“People are slowly coming in, but the ban on consumption of alcohol on premises remains a big issue, which is still going to hurt a lot of restaurants,” Gareth explained.

Businesses close:

Some well-known restaurants have permanently had to close for business, including Charlie C’s Art Cafe and the Art of Food restaurant.

•Christine Hamman, owner of Art of Food, said that the closure of her business is a direct result of the economic impact of Covid-19.

Both she and her partner, who relied on the restaurant for an income, are currently without work after their business could not survive the two and a half month-long lockdown.

Plans for Dullstroom:

It’s not all doom and gloom for Dullstroom.

•A member of the Dullstroom Residents Association and Chairman of the Board at the Dullstroom Epilepsy Centre, Malcolm Siebert, said that the town has put together a committee, which is currently mapping out a way forward to help business owners recover.

Visitors should keep an eye out for some promotional specials.

The committee is also putting heads together to plan activities that will hopefully attract more visitors.

Malcolm explained that as usual, the community has been incredible in how they handled lockdown and their general support of each other.

“Dullstroom is still here and we are still open for business and we are ready for customers.”

Tourism industry stares mass retrenchment in the face:

•According to a press release published by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, over R68 billion worth of travel and tourism spend has been lost during the 100 day period since lockdown.

The TBCSA made a call to government to lift the ban on inter-provincial leisure travel, saying that the industry is losing R748 million for each day of lockdown.

They have predicted a job loss of over 600 000 in the sector, should leisure travel not be reopened soon.