CLOSE TO 200 000 VISITORS HAVE CHOSEN ETHEKWINI
EThekwini Mayor Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, says he is elated about festive season preparedness, for assisting the city to re-cement its place in the country, as a tourist mecca. Like many cities in the world, in the past year, eThekwini’s tourism industry lost hundreds of millions in revenue, as a result of COVID-19.
Throughout this festive period, starting from 15 December 2021 to 04 January 2022, the city recorded over 80 percent occupancy rates across its accommodation establishments. This resulted to restaurants and eateries in the townships and other destinations to burst at seams with tourists. Kaunda says the city is not going to take its foot off the pedal.
“When it comes to tourism, we are not taking chances. That’s why we have got our Festive Season Management Committee (FESMAC) that assist us to meet the needs of our visitors. We will forever be indebted to people of eThekwini for their unrelenting hospitality. We desperately needed this development for we were bruised by the pandemic and multitudes of our people lost jobs. I am happy that following these figures, it means we are doing things right,” said Kaunda.
Over the Christmas weekend period alone, preliminary indicators show close to 200 000 visitors descended on the City spending close to R150 million and the contribution to the city’s GDP is approximately R350 million.
Undisputedly the warmest place to be, Durban welcomed holidaymakers from various locations throughout South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 34 per cent of visitors, 31 per cent came from Gauteng, 12 percent from the Eastern Cape and eight percent from the Western Cape.
Kaunda calls upon all people from eThekwini and visitors themselves, to be ambassadors of the city. He vowed to ensure that even during the course of the year, the city accounts for a lion’s share of tourists by getting basics right.
ENDS
Issued by Communications Unit. For media enquiries, contact the Municipal Spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela on 060 966 4220.