According to Bonnie Smith, general manager of FCM Travel Solutions, Mozambique and Ghana have seen a revival when it comes to business travel from South Africa.
The news come just after a week following the official reopening of international borders from the start of October under Level 1 Lockdown.
After six month months of shutdown and working remotely, the reopening of borders is a very welcome development for multinational corporations and large enterprises, which provide South Africa as their host country with many benefits such as employment opportunities, and the latest technological innovations to mention but a few.
That they can now finally embark upon the road to recovery, resume on-site operations and reconnect with their offices around Africa is
However, Smith further added added although the news may come as a relief to travellers still reluctant to travel to Africa, we can expect travel to other international destinations to take longer to recover.
“Although government has reopened the borders to the entire world for business travel, travellers are still reluctant to venture outside Africa,” added Smith.
“It’s one thing for government to say travel is permitted again and to lift the travel restrictions, but travellers also need to want to go, airlines need to resume operations and destination countries need to be ready to welcome South African travellers again.”
To better understand the prevailing sentiments on business travel conditions as countries emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, FCM Travel Solutions recently launched a global ‘State of the Market’ survey, which involved a wide range of industries, including mining, wholesale trade, healthcare, construction and manufacturing.
The survey show that although lifting of border restrictions is an important trigger to resume business travel, majority of companies will take a phased approach to resuming travel over the next 12 months.
“Working with so many industries during this pandemic has allowed us to formulate thorough travel risk strategies for different sectors. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for companies during these times,” Smith further explained.
To help provide direction for companies looking to stay informed, FCM has developed a Return to Travel Framework, aimed also at helping customers to take confident action when it comes to resuming business travel.
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