The Western Cape economy will be severely affected if the travel bans imposed by international communities, continue.
Finance MEC David Maynier made the statement when he tabled the medium-term budget policy statement, on Monday.
The tourism and hospitality sector have already started to see setbacks ahead of the summer period.
A survey on more than 800 businesses in Cape Town, Garden Route, and Cape Winelands, has painted a grim picture.
More than 70% businesses have seen cancellation for December 2021, while more than 60% for January 2022.
Provincial treasury has set aside more than R211 million for this financial year to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.
But that won’t help the tourism sector if international travel bans ignore the actual data.
Maynier says the restrictions are unnecessary.
“So, we say here-and-now, to the international community: reverse your travel bans, which are ineffective, and which are killing jobs in the Western Cape. What we do know, with absolute certainty, about Omicron is that its timing is terrible, because we are in deep economic trouble, and we face a significant “budget crunch” in South Africa”.
