Tourism spend of R2.2bn expected during festive season, bookings on rise
|Published
An spend of R2.2 billion in KwaZulu-Natal and over one million visitors to eThekwini are expected during the December festive season holidays.
This was revealed by the KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea), Reverend Musa Zondi during the Summer season launch in Margate on the KZN South Coast on Saturday.
The event was hosted by the Edtea entity KZN Tourism and Film Authority.
Tourism bodies have welcomed the positive forecast for the Summer season and said they were looking forward to more international arrivals.
Zondi said an estimated 1.3 million tourists and investors were forecast to visit Durban during the holiday season.
“We believe improving street and community safety will give them much-needed assurance that they have made the right choice to spend their holiday season here in KZN.”
He added that the City had announced that 21 beaches are open for swimming in eThekwini with just two beaches closed.
“Ansteys and Reunion beaches are closed for swimming. Authorities are working around the clock testing the water quality.”
Zondi said that domestic bookings reveal a bright forecast for December.
“For the 2024 festive season, the expected international arrivals for December are 69 000 and the domestic trips are 613 000. The expected spend is R2.2 billion. Hotel occupancy is estimated to be around 70%. This is from the trends we saw until September this year.”
Zondi added that law enforcement in KZN will be out in their numbers during the holidays.
“KZN Premier Thami Ntuli has announced the recruitment of 173 new staff for police stations with high gender-based violence cases and the deployment of 50 law graduates to assist police. eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba in his 100 days address recently also stated that Metro Police would deploy 178 high-performance cars in crime hotspots to boost visibility.”
Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) East Coast chairperson Brett Tungay said that he agreed with MEC Zondi’s expectations regarding the festive season.
“I think a 70% hotel occupancy currently is accurate; some establishments in KZN might have it a bit higher. We have also seen that some establishments in KZN are reporting late bookings. They have reported that bookings were at 60% but with the late bookings we expect that occupancy can go up to 80%.”
Tungay added that it was unusual to see late bookings as normally holidaymakers like to book their vacations in advance due to fear of missing out.
“The post-Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way people do their holidays but all in all things are looking good and we expect a successful festive season.”
UMhlanga Tourism chairperson and owner of Burnham House bed and breakfast Jeannie Sarno said that she was delighted to hear that the KZN Tourism and Film Authority were doing activations across the province.
“It should be an easily marketable province. The climate is attractive for most of the year, the ocean temperature most inviting and the vast cultures we have allow for an experience for any visitor.
“We sadly still haven’t reached the pre-Covid-19 figures; this is concerning as we should have but I think most travellers are sceptical about travelling and booking in advance. Most of the uMhlanga Tourism members have said that their occupancies for December are reflecting around 50-60% booked, and as a B&B owner myself I can say this reflects my bookings too.”
Sarno added that previously her Christmas and New Year’s bookings were already booked by Easter and the change in the pattern may be due to “the uncertainty that has plagued KZN in recent years”.
Catherine Restiau, a guest-house owner on the KZN South Coast, said the guest-house was already full with bookings for the holidays.
“I am pleased about this; however, numbers are still to reach pre-Covid-19 levels.”