Regulations – as advised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his address on June 17 – allow for intra-provincial leisure travel.
Various tourism industry members – including ex-Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom – took to social media platforms to clarify confusion created, following the press briefing held by Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, on Friday (June 26), who said leisure travel remained prohibited.
NightsBridge director and founder, Neil Emerick, commented to Travel News sister publication Tourism Update: “The Minister appears to be wrong in terms of what the regulations say. Section 39(2)(e) of the gazetted regulations prohibits non-accredited accommodation such as private homes for paid leisure accommodation. This means leisure travel is open for all hotels and guest houses.”
“Leisure travellers may be accommodated now, other than Airbnb-type accommodation. Only within a province at this stage, but it’s a start. Let’s get going!” tweeted Derek.
A statement from the #SouthAfricaisTravelReady campaign says while the regulations themselves do not allow for inter-provincial domestic leisure travel – as indicated by Minister Kubayi-Ngubane – the gazetted regulations (by the Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) allow travel for leisure (for anything that is allowed under Advanced Level Three).
“The regulations issued on Friday outline specific economic exclusions, including short-term home-sharing, letting, leasing, rental for leisure purposes and, for now, domestic air travel for leisure,” said a spokesperson for the campaign.
She added that there were no exclusions outlined for intra-provincial domestic leisure overnight stays in “accredited and licensed accommodation”.
