One hundred and thirty percent of the 48,000 tourists expected to travel to Inhambane for the New Year’s Eve party have cancelled their bookings due to regulations to prevent the spread of the covid-19 pandemic, which includes the closure of the main beaches, Tofo, Barra and Guinjata.
As a result of the cancellation of bookings, it was not possible to reach the planned revenue target of 182 million meticais. Of the 17 241 beds available, the occupancy rate was well below half.
According to the technician of the Tourism Department in the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism in Inhambane, Joana João, the weak movement experienced during this year’s festive season was influenced by the measures imposed by the decree of the Council of Ministers for the prevention of covid-19, one of them being the closure of beaches.
“A large part of national and foreign tourists cancelled their trips due to the closure of beaches, as it constitutes one of the main tourist attractions of the province,” he said.
Meanwhile, the president of the Inhambane Hotel and Tourism Association, Yassin Amugy, believes that the activity in Inhambane province, called the tourism capital of the country, is no longer seasonal but year-round.
Yassin Amugy said that the end of the festive season does not mean the end of tourism in Inhambane, especially in Vilankulo.
To justify his statement he explained that some people like December because of the turn of the year or the calmness of January, others like February because it is the month of Valentine’s and April for Easter.
“But this does not end at Easter, there is sport fishing in May and the calmness of June and July and water sports practitioners prefer August and September for kitesurfing because of the winds and October and November for summer and the so-called high season of tourism. Therefore, tourism in Inhambane can be done 365 days a year, so nobody should wait for December to go to Inhambane, you should plan your trip according to what you want to see and do on the coast and interior of the province where over 60 per cent of national tourism is carried out,” said Yassin Amugy.
