Whoops! Presidency backtracks on info stating that leisure travel is allowed

The Presidency has now deleted an infographic on social media suggesting that leisure travel is allowed under level 3 regulations.

On Friday evening, the Presidency posted information graphics on Twitter and Facebook stating that leisure travel is open.

But the posts have now been deleted.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office says the posts were made in error.

Can somebody at the @PresidencyZA please explain why this tweet has be deleted? pic.twitter.com/1xbgkkZAqm

— David Maynier (@DavidMaynier) July 11, 2020

In an updated post on Saturday afternoon, the Presidency says "We picked up an error in the previous graphic which suggested that accommodation for leisure travel was permitted. This is not the case."

In the new post, the Presidency refers to a statement by Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane dated 30 May 2020.

"Accommodation activities are allowed except for leisure and establishments will no longer require a letter from Minister of Tourism to operate. They are required to ensure that they accommodate those in the permitted services and keep records for inspections by the department", the statement reads.

Here are the activities that are now allowed at Level 3. We picked up an error in the previous graphic which suggested that accommodation for leisure travel was permitted. This is not the case. See this statement for more information: https://t.co/hQnwYUNN6s #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/7t4Q7vxCKl

— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) July 11, 2020

There's been some major confusion surrounding leisure travel and Level 3 tourism regulations in recent weeks.

Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) has interpreted the gazetted industry regulations to mean that intra-provincial leisure travel is allowed.

However, the Tourism Minister has been clear that leisure tourism remains closed.

RELATED: The official word is that leisure travel is not allowed - Fedhasa

At the same time, TBCSA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa has told Business Insider SA that the now-deleted posts confirm the industry's interpretation of the regulations.

Like we have saying before, accommodation for intraprovincial is allowed for leisure. https://t.co/b5wdSBeEF4

— Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa (@TTshivhengwa) July 10, 2020

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