South Africa: KZN expecting bumper Easter season

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South Africa: KZN expecting bumper Easter season

8:02 CAT | 22 Mar 2021

Durban beaches are a huge tourist attraction in KwaZulu-Natal as the province's water remains warm throughout the year. [Image: SABC News]

KwaZulu-Natal is expecting a bumper Easter season that will boost tourism following a slump due to the pandemic. The province has started experiencing a rise in numbers of visitors since the national drop to alert Level 1 lockdown.

Tourism authorities say the province has recorded a 65% booking rate.

Open-air activities like bungee jumping are the first choice for tourists as they mitigate getting infected with the coronavirus.

KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Ravi Pillay, say they are looking forward to the Easter season.

“We are looking forward to the Easter season and subsequently, the July vacation. I’m quite happy with the figures that we have currently. We are expecting to go up to about 80 bookings and we think that will be the start of the revival,” adds Pillay.

Pillay says 400 tourism businesses are set to benefit from the R20 million relief fund set aside for the sector.

“Those will be screened and then the top ranking ones will receive their benefit its capped at R50 000 per small business, but it will also include 4 500 for tour guides. These are young people who we’ve been aggressively cultivating over time.”

Despite this, however, some businesses on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast say the global pandemic is not the only problem they have been contending with.

They say the ongoing water shortages in the area continue to affect tourism.

However, UGU South Coast Tourism is projecting growth in the number of visitors, despite the challenges.

“The water situation just affects the businesses themselves because they secure bookings but all of a sudden they cancel,” says UGU South Coast Tourism CEO, Phelis Mangcu.

Business owner, Lorette Ringo, says it has been awful.

“It’s absolutely awful. We have it maybe three times a month. That’s if we’re lucky and then clients will walk in here and expect to walk into a salon wanting their hair washed because at their house they don’t have any water. So, we’ve got to close the doors if we don’t have any water,” says Ringo.

The province is expected to launch its Easter season plan soon.

Source: SABC News