Following the announcement made over the weekend by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the country will enter the COVID-19 (coronavirus) alert Level two with effect from midnight, 17 August 2020 and the subsequent gazetting of the amended regulations, South African National Parks (SANParks) would like to clarify how it will manage overnight accommodation in its various national parks. 

This according to SANParks Chief Executive Officer, Fundisile Mketeni who said as economic activities have been gradually opening, a Risk Adjusted Strategy has been at the core of every sector or industry planning in an effort to save lives. “In dealing with the expected accommodation bookings influx, SANParks has aligned itself with a similar strategy for overnight bookings particularly for inter-provincial travelers to national parks.” 

Mketeni said the gazette 43620 issued on Monday 17 August 2020 stipulates that all accommodation establishments, restrict the number of persons allowed in such establishments to not more than 50 percent of the facility.  “Practically this means that SANParks will be obligated to amend or cancel bookings in parks and camps that are currently booked beyond that capacity and in addition, to reject new bookings that may lead to operating above the regulated 50 percent threshold.” 

He said that while SANParks understands the inconvenience and the frustration this will create, our reservations team are on hand to assist with regards to reallocating bookings from one camp to another within the same park to ensure that we are operating in adherence to the law at all times. 

According to Mketeni, in instances where a paid forward booking has to be cancelled, SANParks will apply a transparent and fair process of LIFO (last-in-first-out) principle… “implying that the person that booked earlier will receive preference over someone that booked later.” 

He said affected guests will be contacted and offered alternative facilities or alternative dates… “and no guests will be charged cancellation fees if an eventual cancellation occurs and is due to COVID-19 related circumstances.”

In conclusion, Mketeni said this time has called on every person to make individual and collective sacrifices in minimising the risk of the spread of COVID-19. He urged guests to the national parks to appreciate that the regulations and SANParks own protocols as inconvenient as they may seem, are towards a greater and common good.