• Custodians of destination brands.Marketers must promote African destinations as attractive but socially responsible locations. They must share information such as measures put in place to protect tourists, so as to help people make their decisions.
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    Tourism service providers. Most importantly, tourism product owners must innovate and adapt their tourism offerings to meet the demand for safe domestic tourism. This would kick-start the tourism sector and prepare it for international tourism.

Going forward

 

The results of my study have significant implications for African tourism practitioners. The domestic tourism sector, much like the global tourism industry, faces a multifaceted challenge. It comes from both the tourism demand side (perceived health, social and psychological risk) and the supply side (massive fiscal deficits, job losses, business liquidation and human capital depletion).

Tourism practitioners need to be aware of the influence of health-related physical risk on tourists’ perceptions and intentions. It’s likely that tourists will feel that home is safer than abroad. This would be a benefit for domestic tourism.

Moreover, measures such as promoting mask-wearing, sanitising, social distancing, digitising some service processes and promoting vaccination will be vital to the recovery and promotion of domestic tourism. Tourism practitioners must work out how to time supply and demand. This can include product innovation and pricing reforms to cater to domestic tourists and keep up with new tourist demands.

Tafadzwa Matiza is affiliated with the North-West University, South Africa.

By Tafadzwa Matiza, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Tourism, North-West University