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Articles by John Cokayne
New rules in the pipeline for foreign workers
Having identified a number of gaps or shortcomings for employment of foreign nationals – including in the tourism and hospitality sector – the Department of Labour has developed a new National Labour Migration Policy and has proposed amendments to the existing Employment Services Act. The proposals will be released in February/March and stakeholders will have three months to comment.
Feelgood Friday: Zim conservation top of mind at ranger training
Wilderness Safaris recently teamed up with the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) and Zimbabwe Professional Guides Association (ZPGA) to conduct a five-day Rangers’ Training Course at Davison’s Camp in Hwange National Park. Guide trainers and mentors worked from January 10-15 to tutor 12 rangers on the training course initiated by Chief Examiner for ZimParks, Isaac Nyamutora; Deputy Chief Examiner, Power Mupunga; and Chief Examiner for ZPGA, David Carson.
Comment of the Week: Unified welcome needed for KAZA region
Responding to news that the KAZA region of southern Africa is lobbying for standardised testing rules for inbound travellers, owner of Centre Stage Travel, Colin Fryer, commented: “The KAZA region encapsulates some of our top African attractions. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, has been, and continues to be, one of the most-requested and -visited destinations in southern Africa.
All City Lodge properties open by next month
The City Lodge Hotel Group (CLHG) has announced that, from February 7, all South African-based hotels and most others elsewhere in Africa will be open. This comes nearly two years after the start of the pandemic, when all 63 CLHG properties were forced to suspend their services. Hotels have gradually been reopening in a phased manner, based on COVID-19 lockdown travel regulations, international borders being opened or closed, and customer demand.
Fastjet scores another tourism goal
Fastjet Zimbabwe will start services between Victoria Falls and Maun from mid-year. The services will commence on Thursday, June 30, and tickets are already on sale. The schedule will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. FN 8901 departs Vic Falls at 10h30 and arrives Maun at 11h25. Return flight FN 8902 departs Maun at 13h30 and arrives in Vic Falls at 14h20. The airline said the route would facilitate more travel between the tourism capitals of Zimbabwe and Botswana.
EK resumes SA services
The long-awaited announcement from Emirates regarding the restarting of its passenger services on the South African route was finally made today. This came after the news broke yesterday that the UAE would begin to allow in foreign visitors from African countries that had been ‘red-listed’ due to the Omicron variant. The airline says it will resume South Africa services, along with four other African services, with effect from Saturday, January 29.
‘Goodbye 2021, hello 2022’
At Tourplan, our clients are talking to us about what they need to do to ramp up, and be well placed to respond to increasing demand in 2022. There are some key considerations to keep in mind for pandemic-shaped travel in 2022. Lack of staff – sadly, many people have lost their jobs or have left the industry due to COVID-19. What this means is that tour operators must now deal with what will be an increase in demand with a reduced workforce.
EU recommends new approach to travel regs
The Council of the European Union has adopted a revised recommendation to its member states for COVID-based restrictions on travellers to be based on the individual situation of persons arriving in the EU, and no longer on their region of origin. The recommendation, to be effective from February 1, states that a traveller’s COVID-19 vaccination, test or recovery status, proved by a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate, should be the ‘key determinant’ of what regulations should be followed.
Video of the week: Road tripping through the Northern Cape
The best road tripping opportunities in the Northern Cape were highlighted recently by the Northern Cape Tourism Authority on Twitter. Among the routes featured in the minute-long video is the Cape to Namibia Route, which takes travellers along the N7 highway, starting in Cape Town, stretching 1 478km all the way to Namibia’s capital, Windhoek.
Kenya’s tourism sector optimistic for 2022
Kenya's tourism sector is looking positive for the year ahead, based on statistics showing growth in 2021. According to the annual Tourism Sector Performance Report 2021, arrivals rose, with the US the top source market for tourists – recording 136 981 arrivals for the year.
New rules for endemic travel?
Iata has called for governments to accelerate the relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. Iata calls for: *Removal of all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine. *Quarantine-free travel for unvaccinated travellers with a negative pre-departure antigen test result.
Upbeat outlook for golf tourism
Golf tourism is poised to grow by U$41.04 billion between 2021 and 2025, according to the ResearchAndMarkets report, Global Golf Tourism Market 2021-2025. To help readers gain insider insight into this lucrative market, Tourism Update has partnered with Founder and Managing Editor of the Business of Golf Magazine, John Cokayne, to provide regular articles and columns.
UAE now open to pax travelling from Southern Africa
The UAE yesterday, January 26, announced the resumption of arrivals from a group of 12 countries in Africa. Passengers from these countries, or who have passed through these countries, have been barred from entering since the advent of the Omicron COVID variant. Passengers from Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Congo, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe will be accepted from January 29.
Golf tourism - where to from here?
To open the golf tourism column, I used as my base a reflection on what has happened to the sector over the last 18 months or so in Southern Africa. Locally golf rounds are up (an interesting phenomenon, which is being experienced globally), so some of the local lockdown level pain, in terms of lost rounds’ revenues, has been eased by this surge on to the country’s golf courses.
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