The premier horse racing and fashion event, which takes place at the Greyville Racecourse, will once again be a major draw card for tourists.

The city's tourism bosses expect the influx to begin today. "Most hotels on the coastline of the city are fully booked. Restaurants and entertainment venues do very well during this period," Durban's Tourism head Phillip Sithole said.

Race organiser Gold Circle's marketing manager, Ken Tweddell, said ticket sales have been brisk, with a strong demand from outside of KwaZulu-Natal.

"Judging by the level of enthusiasm we are seeing on the event's Facebook page and the demand to courier tickets to people unable to purchase them directly from Greyville Racecourse, there is every reason to believe that there will be an even bigger turnout of racing fans from Gauteng this year," he said.

Hospitality coordinators spokesman Mike Holmes said the desire and demand to be at the event is stronger than ever this year.

"It is really encouraging to see that, despite the seriously tough economic times, the demand for the July has not been adversely affected," he said.

Last month, Sithole reported that the Top Gear Live festival and the Tri-Nations test rugby match against England brought in R80-million to the city over two weekends.