“Airbnb democratizes tourismâ€. The Money Show interviews Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs at Airbnb.
The tourism industry in South Africa is one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
But things are improving, according to Airbnb’s head of global policy and public affairs.
Bruce Whitfield chats with Chris Lehane about the future of South Africa’s travel industry and Airbnb’s empowerment plans for future hosts in the country.
RELATED: Airbnb Partners with Wesgro in WC, SnapScan in Jhb to Boost Small Businesses
The American company recently announced its three-year plan to empower a new generation of what it calls micro-entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Airbnb announces a three-year commitment to empower a new generation of entrepreneurs through an inclusive economic recovery in South Africa. https://t.co/g3hKiq7qbt@ikeja_wireless @ go2uj
– Airbnb Public Policy (@AirbnbPolicy) September 22, 2021
Lehane notes that Airbnb now has more than 4 million hosts worldwide and recently surpassed the record one billion guest arrivals.
South Africa has always been an important part of our larger community, a portal to all of Africa.
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
An important goal for a number of years now has been to ensure that the global network is inclusive, he says.
Lehane remembers how, after spending a night in Khayelitsha in 2017, he announced the creation of an Airbnb Academy.
Come on to where we are today and we have taken that basic concept and extended it to 36 different communities across South Africa.
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
What we announced most recently was an effort to supercharge this larger program.
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
It describes their main goals, including achieving greater accessibility via WiFi in townships and rural areas and establishing a three-year education program in partnership with the University of Johannesburg (UJ ).
It’s actually about training 1,000 young “microentrepreneursâ€â€¦ who seek to participate in travel and tourism not from the point of view of the service industry, but as owners.
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
Airbnb has already supported local hosts during the Covid-19 pandemic with a cash injection to help them stay afloat and is now providing additional financial support.
Airbnb democratizes travel and tourism. Most of the economy generated does not go to a corporate entity, it goes to our actual hosts … They are ordinary people …
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
Over $ 100 billion has gone to these people through the Airbnb platform and you are seeing this manifesting specifically in South Africa. We generated 22,000 jobs during the pandemic through the platform thanks to customer spending …
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
Our hosts who hosted at least one person during the pandemic earn an average of around R55,000 per year through Airbnb.
Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs – Airbnb
Listen to the audio below for Lehane’s positive assessment of the future of the tourism industry:
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