Monday marks World Tourism Day across the globe and while it has characteristically been celebrated by local and world travellers alike over the years there is an ask this year to take reflect on what the tourism industry was in the past and what it will look like in the future after Covid-19 ravaged the industry last year.
Around $83 billion were lost last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and some 7.2 million people lost their jobs. Back at home, the department of tourism is looking to implement the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan to save the SA tourism industry valued at some R189 billion as well as save 125 000 jobs.
But even as tourism around the world begins to slowly return to pre-pandemic levels of travel the United Kingdom has seen fit to keep South Africa on the red list of countries with worries cited around the spread of the Beta variant of the coronavirus.
This while South Africa isn’t significantly struggling with the Beta variant and officially emerged from the third wave according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Interestingly both Kenya and Pakistan have been removed from the UK’s red list even while both nations have a significantly lower vaccination rate than that of SA.
Director of the Institute of Global Health Equity Research Timothy Carey writes about the deeply flawed reasoning behind the UK’s decision to leave SA on the red list, published in The Conversation. Carey also includes comparisons between countries on the list and those that aren’t and what the implications entail.
Here’s a roundup of interesting opinions and analyses:
There ain’t no (easy) cure for extreme executive pay – Helena Wasserman, Fin24 (for subscribers)
Different data sets give different pictures of investor perceptions – Lukanyo Mnyanda, Business Day (for subscribers)
As China’s Evergrande implodes, what have we learnt from the Lehman Brothers crisis? – Sasha Planting, Daily Maverick
Will Gwede Mantashe doom Eskom’s future? – Alex Lenferna, Daily Maverick
Weather outlook and higher commodity prices point to good SA season – Wandile Sihlobo, Business Day (for subscribers)
Busy time for central bank watchers – Editorial, Business Day
Public servants illegally receiving grants show instilling ethics will take time – Cyril Ramaphosa, News24
State must place a moratorium on new promises, and sort out the basics first – Mpumelelo Mkhabela, News24 (for subscribers)
SA’s heritage is about democracy and those who fought for it – Justice Malala, Sunday Times Daily (register to read)
For SA’s NHI hopes to be realised, the bill needs a lot more work – Bada Pharasi, Sunday Times Daily (register to read)
