South Africa's tourism business struggles to carry on with few tourists around the corner

Among Cape Town's highest rated restaurants may close its doors after receiving just one reservation in 2021 so far.

"It's pointless for me to hold back and wait and wait," said Mbasa Siyaka, who owns Mzansi Restaurant. "I don't know when this pandemic will end so when people are likely to start traveling."

Many South Africans in the tourism industry are facing the same dilemma as Siyaka. Companies and employees are losing profits month after month as hopes for the recovery are delayed when confronted with travel restrictions related to the "South African" Covid-19 variant, limited support from the government, and major airlines canceling routes to and from the united states.

"Currently, I am sitting with a zero, a minus, in my own bank account," Siyaka said. Contrast this to 1 year ago, when he previously long term plans to carefully turn Mzansi into a franchise.

Mzansi is located in the historical town of Langa and was founded in 2008 after Siyaka's late grandmother approached his mother with an idea: a location where tourists can like a traditional home cooked South African meal while hearing African music. When Mbasa's mother was identified as having stage four cancer in 2018, he took over the family business. Today, Mzansi ranks between #1 and 2 on Tripadvisor to get the best restaurant in Cape Town.

Siyaka employs 16 people from the local community, a few of whom are not educated and also have had difficulty finding other jobs. They are all reliant on his business to keep food on the table and the lights on.

After South African doctors discovered a far more transmissible variant of Covid-19 in October 2020, countries like the United States, UK and Germany shut their borders to visitors from the united states. Airlines including British Airways, Emirates and Cathay Pacific canceled all flights and also have not restarted.
Based on the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa, not even half of carriers that offered routes to South Africa prior to the pandemic have resumed operations. This implies great uncertainty for a business and country reliant on travelers. Based on the government, tourism makes up about approximately 1.5 million jobs and 2.9% of South Africa's economy.