News 24 published an article this weekend about the plight of businesses in Franschhoek. It paints a horrific picture of the once famous Gourmet Town, known for its top Restaurants and boutique wineries, to what one business owner speculated could become a ‘Ghost Town’ if tourists do not return to it soon.
Franschhoek, like many other towns and cities in our country, has been hard hit by the Corona Virus pandemic, the South African one-year anniversary of its Lockdown to be ‘celebrated’ later this week. The new South African Virus mutation has made our country very unattractive to visit by international tourists, which probably are the type of tourists South African tourism businesses would love to see return. Continue reading →
Friday 16 October 2020, Day 26 of Level 1, Day 204 of Lockdown 😷
Six days after South Africa’s borders reopened for tourism, confusion reigns about various aspects of the new regulations in regard to how they apply to Leisure and Business Travellers, the insurance required in particular, whether the Covid testing applies to airline crew, and whether Visas are required for visitors to our country! A surprise has been that the Minister of Tourism has appeared to have had no participation in the regulations regarding the reopening of International Tourism, left in the hands of the Departments of Home Affairs, Transport, and International Relations and Cooperation! 
At the beginning of June I announced the launch of my new Tourist Guiding Service, called My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide. Last week I was allowed to collect my Tourist Guide Registration Card from the Western Cape Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism, a process that took two months, making me a duly registered Tourist Guide for the next three years.