A new law may limit Airbnb’s operations in South Africa, as the property listing website and similar short-term accommodation starts to dominate the tourism accommodation sector in the country.
The Tourism Amendment Bill, which the Department of Tourism drafted in April, will have a significant impact on people listing their properties on the home-listing website.
StatsSA released a report on Monday stating that while income from tourism accommodation had increased for “other” accommodation by 17.8% in 2019, hotels decreased by 2.6% and guest houses by 29.5%.
In a press release, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), welcomed the bill, stating that it “will provide for an appropriate regulation for the sharing economy (Airbnb) in the accommodation sub-sector”. The TBCSA have been outspoken about Airbnb’s practices, stating that it hurts hotels and guest houses which have more expenses than home-owners who merely rent out a property they were already paying for.
Though the Bill is still vague, it may place regulations on how many nights people may rent out their properties on Airbnb as well as what areas Airbnb’s are allowed to be in.
According to The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), South Africa has the largest tourism economy in Africa that indirectly created roughly 1.5 million (9.2%) jobs in the country.
Despite the possible regulations that the bill might place on Airbnb, the company is still seeking to expand its presence in Africa. The $31 billion tech company, which has announced its plan to go public in 2020, pledged $1 million dollars in October of 2017 to boost community-led tourism in Africa.
Part of this commitment has been the Airbnb Africa Travel Summit and Airbnb Africa Academy which ended two weeks ago.
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