SA’s inbound tourism association, the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA),andride-hailing service Bolt have signed a partnership deal to help travel industry drivers get back on the road to earning a sustainable income.
Established in 1969, SATSA is a non-profit, member-driven association representing the region’s tourism private sector, including tour operators, vehicle hire companies and accommodation establishments.
The partnership makes it possible for SATSA-registered tourism drivers and guides to easily access the earning potential offered by the Bolt platform, which connects them to passengers nearby seeking safe and affordable door-to-door transport.
Tourism drivers can use their own vehicles to register on the Bolt platform, or they can rent vehicles from tourism service providers whose vehicles are not being used at present.
In some instances, tourism service providers have loaned their unused vehicles to employees who cannot earn an income at present to use the Bolt platform to earn money.
Last April, some e-hailing drivers and operators lobbied government to allow them to be included in the COVID-19 Relief Fund, fearing their vehicles will be repossessed as their business had taken a huge blow during the lockdown period.
“The South African tourism industry was one of the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with service staff like drivers and guides most badly affected,” says Gareth Taylor, regional manager for Bolt in Southern Africa.
“This partnership will go a long way to helping those drivers get back behind the wheel and earning an income again until their primary employers can offer them full wages again.”
Bolt is available in more than 30 cities and towns across SA, with most major cities, including the local tourism hotspots of Cape Town, Durban, East London, Gqeberha, Johannesburg and the Garden Route.
The local tourism sector has seen massive job losses since the onset of the COVID-19-induced lockdowns, with financial losses amounting to billions of rand, according to reports.
“At SATSA, we are continually looking for ways to help our members navigate the complexities of the current COVID-19 environment, worsened by international travel bans to SA,” says Hannelie du Toit, COO of SATSA.
“This collaboration with Bolt will help many of our members and their staff back to financial stability, whether their regular jobs are entirely on hold at the moment, or whether they choose to supplement their income by connecting with other passengers through Bolt. The partnership is literally putting food on the table to help the industry survive.”
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