Last month businesses in the Winelands were celebrating after the national ban on alcohol was lifted but now a new realism is setting in with the industry facing the prospect of an arid tourism season. This on top of losses of more than R 2.5 bn in revenue between March and June 2020.
According to a report published last month by South Africa’s tourism authority, in a realistic scenario that takes into account a ‘fragile’ global recovery, the country could open up to Asian and Australasian markets in November this year, with its ‘core markets’ (the UK, Germany and the US) following in April 2021.
In another scenario that supposes a major second wave hits countries around the world before November, the report suggests international travellers from Asia may only return between May and July 2021, and those from the UK, Germany and USA as late as November 2021.
Unfortunately things in Europe are not looking good.
- European spike in Covid19 cases.
- France has reported a record daily increase in coronavirus cases as the country struggles to contain a fresh surge in infections.
- On Saturday health authorities said there were 10,561 new cases, rising by more than 1,000 from Friday’s figures.
- The numbers of people admitted to hospital and intensive care are also increasing.
Austria experiencing second virus wave: chancellor
Austria is experiencing the start of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its chancellor has said, as cases spike upwards in line with other EU countries.
From Friday to Saturday, the Alpine nation of nearly nine million people reported 869 new cases – more than half of those in the capital Vienna.
What we are experiencing is the beginning of the second wave,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a statement, appealing to the population to stick to anti-virus measures and reduce social contacts.
Cases are also increasing again in Spain, The Netherlands and the UK with the rest of Europe sure to follow.
What does all of this mean for our Wine Tourism industry?
It has become clear to us that the industry is facing a season with no or very few international tourists which means that once again we need to adapt and look seriously at the only market left for this season which is domestic tourism.
The time for action is now!
We cannot sit on our laurels and as an industry we need to get people visiting the Winelands as a matter of urgency.
Kickstart Summer
We invite everyone to help to:
It’s been a tough time in the Winelands in the last few months and all of us have had to adjust to not only a new way of doing things but some businesses have been or are still in a fight for survival. We have all seen the statistics from Vinpro that paint the picture of more than 18,000 potential job losses in the next year and a half.
We have ourselves been working on a few projects to promote the Winelands, including launching our Podcast, About the Winelands, in February as well as the SaveSAwine Group on Facebook, collaboration on the #60in60 project and the CapClassiqueDay promotion amongst others.
We have now completed more than 60 interviews with wineries and other winelands businesses and our podcasts are published on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram TV, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. As part of our podcasting program we have also created more than 60 short explainer videos on businesses and activities in the Winelands.
Our collaborative networks are now reaching more than 250 000 people every week and we are also currently doing two promotional livestreams daily at 08h30 and 19h00 on weekdays and at 9h00 and 19h00 on weekends.
With the summer season on our doorstep it is now more important than ever for Winelands businesses to step up their promotional activities and we are inviting everyone to contact us with any new ideas that they might have.
- Email us at visitthewinelands@gmail.com with any ideas or promotions that you might have.
- We also have a FREE listing page for your winelands business: – https://bit.ly/visitwinelands
A great way to get more exposure for your wine, your restaurant, accomodation, your winelands experience or your winelands business is to use one of our premium service offerings. We realise that times are tough though and to give a helping hand to you we have decided to give away a R500,00 credit to you as a gift to kickstart your promotion for summer.
To claim your credit simply email us with your business details to visitthewinelands@gmail.com and we will send it to you… BUT do hurry, this is a limited offer and will be on a first come, first served basis.
Our Premium Services: – https://bitmedia24marketplace.myshopify.com/
Again, our invitation stands – any ideas promotions or special offers that you might have, please contact us at visitthewinelands@gmail.com
Let’s save Summer in the Winelands, together.
