Tourism Relief Fund put on hold despite growing need

Posted by Anita Froneman on 22 June 2021

The Tourism Department revealed in a statement that it continued to receive a large volume of pleas from small businesses in dire need of financial aid after putting the Tourism Relief Fund on hold due to a lack of finances.

Instead, the Department says, it will focus on the implementation of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP).

The Department added that the reason many applicants were unsuccessful was that the fund did not cater for business categories such as franchises in food and beverages, restaurants, and conference facilities attached to hotels, shebeens, and similar establishments.

Of the 7 284 valid applications submitted, only 4 000 businesses in categories such as accommodation establishments, conferencing facilities and venues, safari, and car rentals in the tourism and hospitality sector received funding.

The Fund was “rather limited at only R200 million,” the statement continued.

The Fund was instated to focus on tourism enterprises in the following sub-sectors, according to the Department:

– Accommodation, e.g. hotels, lodges, resorts and self-catering units, and backpacker facilities.

– Hospitality and related services, e.g. conference and convention venues attached to a substantial accommodation element, privately owned attractions in already developed tourism nodes.

– Travel and related services, e.g. tour operators.

“It is regrettable that while there is still a lot of demand for the funds, the Department is not in a position to reinstate the Tourism Relief Fund owing to the unavailability of financial resources,” said Victor Tharage, the Director General of Tourism.

Picture: Getaway gallery/Unrelated

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