iAfrica Image: supplied Share with your network! Last year’s Tourism Industry Survey painted a grim picture at a time when many were hoping for international tourism to resume by the end of the 2020. But by November, foreign travellers arriving in South Africa were down 88.6% on those visiting the country in 2019. After an economically quiet 2020 festive season, the challenge for hotels, guest houses and B&B’s to remain viable through 2021 and until international tourism resumes, will rest on the support of South African locals. Earlier this year, a tech start-up that provides hotel management software to the hospitality industry, RoomRaccoon, monitored occupancy of more than 3,200 rooms at boutique hotels, B&B’s and guesthouses across South Africa. The company reports that since the lockdown restrictions were initially eased to level 2 mid-August last year, weekday occupancy has steadily risen to an average of 30%. However, it is weekend occupancy that has shown a surge at these establishments, with numbers edging towards 60% through November and December 2020. The recent Valentine’s weekend saw occupancy spike to 58%.