Fedhasa and tourism organisations in KwaZulu-Natal have said that they expect a bumper July school holiday with visitors from across the country.
Brett Tungay, Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) East Coast chairperson, said there has been an increase in visitors in KZN since the long weekend.
“We had a very slow month of May for the tourism and hospitality sector.
This is probably due to the elections. “We have definitely seen an upswing since the long weekend and the start of the school holidays.”
Tungay said he thinks visitors have realised that everything went well during the elections and they are starting to travel.
“It’s brilliant for us at this stage, just by looking at figures. It looks good for the rest of June and most of July.
“We are looking forward to the Durban July horse racing event which is always a great boost for our industry.
“We are also coming off the Comrades Marathon that always gives a good boost to both Durban and the province in terms of accommodation and restaurants.”
Tungay said that the July holiday period will bring international visitors to KZN as well.
“We haven’t seen a substantial increase in international visitors since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we have done a lot of marketing at Africa’s Travel Indaba in May. We encouraged operators to market and package KZN to the foreign market and we received positive feedback.
Only time will tell if that’ll translate into business for the province.”
Sammy Alli, general manager at Jessica’s B&B in uMhlanga, said that over the past few weekends they have been full with bookings.
“This weekend and the Comrades Marathon weekend were especially successful. For the Durban July there have been no requests for rooms, which is quite shocking, but people leave it for the last minute.”
Jeannie Sarno, chairperson of uMhlanga Tourism, said the Comrades Marathon and Travel Indaba showed that accommodation establishments can be sold out for events in Durban.
“It left last-minute travellers out of accommodation as all bed capacities in the city were filled up. We’re now in full swing in preparation for the Durban July which is an extremely popular and iconic race. This event, plus the fact that it’s school holidays, will leave many disappointed if they haven’t already booked their stay.”
Crocworld Conservation Centre Manager, James Wittstock, said that the Sardine Run has been incredible on the KZN South Coast, with a lot of netting taking place right in front of Crocworld Conservation Centre.
“It’s been hugely exciting as the Sardine Run, which is such a great annual tourism event, has once again brought an influx of visitors to the Scottburgh area. There’s a real spin off benefit as those coming to catch the Sardine Run will take the opportunity to visit the centre.”
Wittstock said this is a great indicator of what they expect to be a bumper July holiday season.
“There’s just so much for families to do here, with Crocworld always ready to welcome those looking for a memorable day out. Thanks to the efforts of Keep Scottburgh Beautiful and community initiatives, our beachfront is looking amazing.”
The Mercury