Building Resilient Tourism SMMEs amidst and post COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case of South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The paper explores measures adopted by the South African government alongside small business sector to sustain tourism SMMEs amidst COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected from respondents who were purposefully sampled and interviewed using face-to-face mode of enquiry. The data were analysed through content analysis and the emerged findings indicate that tourism SMMEs had been adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown restrictions. Numerous tourism SMMEs had to cease operations, face potential bankruptcy, negotiate pay-cuts and retrench some of the personnel staff. However, certain measures had been adopted by the government alongside small business sector to demonstrate resilience to lockdown restrictions as the pandemic continuously mutates from one variant to the other.