Durban hopes to net 1-million visitors this festive season

Law enforcement has been beefed up in eThekwini in anticipation of about 1-million visitors this festive season, with the hotel occupancy rate expected to be about 62% compared with 57% last year.

eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda launched the festive season campaign at Ushaka Marine World on Wednesday.

Kaunda said 950,000 people were expected and everything was “in place” for the city to welcome visitors for an exciting and memorable festive season.

 “As a city, we have pulled out all the stops to ensure our residents and visitors have a wonderful stay in Durban. We assure visitors that when they come to Durban they will find the city clean and our warm beaches and swimming pools open. The city has 23 bathing beaches and 34 swimming pools open and safe for swimming.”

On Tuesday the city released its latest E. coli test results which showed all beaches meet an acceptable level. The sampling was done on November 23.

This was in contrast to critical levels recorded at five beaches the previous week.

Over the past month, many Durban residents have experienced water outages, raising fears of a festive season with dry taps.

Kaunda said teams have been working to restore water supply in areas affected by the temporary shutdown of the Umgeni-uThukela water system.

During the launch, the city also unveiled 62 new metro police vehicles to be used for patrols during the festive season and beyond.

Kaunda said metro police are working with other law enforcement agencies, including the SAPS, the Road Traffic Inspectorate and private security companies, to maintain high visibility at tourist sites and identified crime hotspots.

About 168 contracted security personnel have been added who will conduct regular patrols with the police in the city and on beaches.

“To control traffic on the beachfront, certain roads will be access controlled. The park-and-ride facility will be available at no cost and will be operational from 7am to 12pm.

“Road safety is one of the key components of ensuring we deliver a peaceful and joyful holiday season. Our law enforcement officers have declared zero tolerance for drinking, driving and reckless behaviour on our roads. Law enforcement operations, including multidisciplinary roadblocks, will be conducted throughout the city to clamp down on criminality.”

Addressing metro police officer during a parade, Kaunda, who is also the metro police commander-in-chief, urged officers to ensure the safety of tourists and citizens.

They should ensure people walking on the promenade, streets and other areas are safe and protected.

“Let us declare war against crime, those breaching our bylaws, and others. People are already starting to arrive and, here at the aquarium, we are expecting 150,000 people during this festive season. Between July and September we had 90,000 visitors at our aquarium,” said Kaunda.

The city has deployed 500 seasonal workers to tourist destinations to quickly attend to issues that may arise.

These include 65 beach guides, who will be stationed at city beaches to help visitors, and 160 additional seasonal lifeguards.

Adults accompanying children to beaches were urged to ensure every child wears a wristband with the details of their guardians.

If a child is separated from their guardian, 38 childminders have been employed to look after lost children, said Kaunda, adding children will be kept in tents until they are reunited with their guardians.

TimesLIVE