Hospitality group pins hope on Covid-19 vaccinations

HOSPITALITY group, Africa Sun Limited, expects the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programme to restore travellers’ confidence after the group’s occupancy levels dipped to 23 percent last year from 48 percent in 2019.

The tourism and hospitality industry has been hardest hit by travel restrictions under lockdown measures implemented by governments to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) report, has shown that destinations worldwide had one billion fewer international arrivals in 2020 than in the previous year due to an unprecedented fall in demand as a result of widespread travel restrictions.

In a statement accompanying financial results for the year ended December 2020, African Sun said it recorded its worst occupancies and volumes in April and May.

“The group recorded a low occupancy of 23 percent, representing a decline of 25 percentage points compared to 48 percent recorded in 2019.

“As we look to the year ahead, we remain optimistic that the accelerating Covid-19 vaccination programmes will lead to further relaxing of restrictions and unlocking leisure and business travel.

“There are prospects of a rebound in the latter part of 2021 on the back of the current rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines and attaining of the required herd immunity,” it said.

As a result of the detrimental effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, African Sun said room nights sold last year went down by 52 percent to 137 162 from 288 224 reported in 2019.

The hotel group said the decline in room nights was across all market segments, with those attributable to export and domestic reducing by 82 percent and 35 percent respectively. During the year under review, African Sun also recorded a significant drop in its inflation adjusted revenue by 55 percent to ZWL$1,84 billion compared to ZWL$4,10 billion in the same period in 2019.

The group said Covid-19 represents the most significant challenge that the tourism industry has ever faced. It said at the onset of Covid-19 induced lockdowns, the business moved swiftly to right-size operations in response to the precipitous decline in revenue by re-basing the cost structure, strengthening the balance sheet, and lowering capital spending.

“Operationally, the group had all of its hotels open for business during Q4 2020. The group expects the recent easing of the lockdown restrictions, which permit all businesses to operate and more importantly allowing inter-provincial travel, to boost domestic demand going forward,” it said. —chronicle.cl.zw