At the height of Durban’s festive season Umhlanga’s beaches remain off-limits to holidaymakers and locals as the popular town and surrounds stand to lose an estimated R45m a day.
eThekwini municipality closed the main and Bronze beaches after tests showed they both had high Ecoli levels.
“The city tested Umhlanga beach and found it compliant on four consecutive occasions before declaring it open. However, subsequent tests showed that it was no longer compliant, and it was then closed,” the City said in a statement. “This is the point of the regular testing. It enables the City to take the necessary action should any beach not be deemed compliant or safe.
“Another test of Umhlanga beach with an independent organisation was done on December 8. Results are pending,” the city said.
A Twitter post by Prof Adam Habib, director of Oriental and African studies at the University of London, reflected the bleak situation at Umhlanga.
His pictures showed an empty beach, which at this time of the year is usually brimming with locals and holidaymakers.
“Just got into Durban. This is Umhlanga Beach. Not a soul around in the heart of December. In half a lifetime of visiting this place, I have never once seen it like this. The consequence for a tourism economy will be devastating. This is what non-meritocratic appointments enables.”
Duncan Heafield, Umhlanga Tourism chair told TimesLIVE Premium on Wednesday the upmarket seaside town was losing about R45m a day because of the beach closures.
Just got into Durban.This is Umhlanga Beach. Not a soul around in the heart of December. In half a life time of visiting this place, I have never once seen it like this. The consequence for a tourism economy will be devastating. This is what non-meritocratic appointments enables. pic.twitter.com/jlb7zGCfq8
— Adam Habib (@AdHabb) December 20, 2022
A month ago the body projected a R25m a day loss during the peak season, but the figures are looking worse due to the continued closure.
“We predicted a 20% to 30% drop in visitors and GDP spend at the start of the festive season. Unfortunately it’s worse than that.
“We are now seeing a 35% to 45% drop in visitors. The municipality had obviously tried their utmost to get the infrastructure in place by December 1.
“But unfortunately it’s not a tap on, tap off story. With all the best endeavours in the world, it was a little bit too late.
“The fact that on December 20 we still haven’t opened our flagship beaches, is a clear indication of where we are at the moment.
“In years gone by we had an average of 100,000 visitors per day during the festive season.”
That figure, said Heafield, declined by about 30% this year.
“We are estimating a R45m loss per day for northern corridor tourism. With Christmas and New Year weekends we are estimating it will be a bit more, with accommodation booking cancellations.
“This is a clear sign that people are not coming. They made a decision about where they are going for their festive break and it’s not here.”
Heafield said cancellations were across the board from B&Bs to Airbnbs and hotels.
“The local market has also seen a decline. The Umhlanga population has also left and gone to alternate destinations.
“It’s a double whammy, as we are losing the local market and influx of tourists coming from Gauteng and other provinces.”
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