aurora
Business Writer
Local hotels’ occupancy levels are beginning to show signs of recovery after a drastic fall in 2020 as a result of unforeseen Covid-19 induced travel restrictions.
Since the beginning of 2020, many governments the world over have been implementing different levels of lockdowns in desperate attempts to curb the spread of the pandemic.
At some point all borders and international airports were sealed leading to grounding of all international flights.
Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) occupancy levels in the first six months of 2021, reveal that there was a 4 percent growth above the 2020 levels in its hotels, while African Sun’s occupancy levels grew by 2 percent to close the first half period at 24 percent, higher than the 22 percent realised in the same period last year.
However, the 24 percent growth in occupancy recorded by African Sun , was lower than the 49 percent attained by the hotel group in 2019 before stringent measures were put in place to manage the pandemic.
RTG said its numbers were largely boosted by domestic tourism given the restrictions on international travel, while its conference business was severely affected by lockdown measures that resulted in limited activities between January and mid–March this year.
In the said period RTG’s revenue modestly grew 53 percent to $706 million from $462 million in the prior comparable period.
RTG’s revenue per available room (RevPar) grew 31 percent in the first half to $2 014 while Average Daily Rate (ADR) grew by 24 percent to $8 395.
“Business volumes improved significantly from mid-March to June 2021 buoyed by accommodation, outside catering as well as Gateway Stream revenue channels,” said RTG chairman Arthur Manase in a statement accompanying the financials.
On the other hand, at $1, 15 billion African Sun’s revenue was better than the first six months of 2020, which stood at $954 million translating to a 20 percent growth attributable to marginal growth in occupancy and firm average daily rate.
African Sun’s total revenue per available room (RevPar) grew to $3743 from $3303, while revenue per available room increased to $1932 from $1 651 in 2020.
According to African Sun the fall in Covid 19 cases across the globe lately has led to a partial return to normalcy in key source markets like the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA) signaling new dawn in the fight against the deadly pandemic.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the accelerated vaccination programmes around the world and the likely easing of restrictions for vaccinated travellers will contribute to the gradual normalisation of travel. In the short term, domestic travel will continue to drive our economy,” said African Sun in a statement accompanying the half-year financial results.
The unprecedented impact of the Covid 19 pandemic has negatively affected international tourist arrivals, which according to the latest United Nations WORLD Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) world tourism barometer reduced by 85 percent between January and May 2021 compared to the same period pre-pandemic year (2019).
Bongani Ndlovu