The KwaZulu-Natal hospitality and tourism industry needs to shout from their hotel rooftops about the positive progress made in the province to woo back tourists.
That is how it will attract tourists back to pre-Covid-19 levels.
That is the message shared by the department of public works and infrastructure (DPWI) and the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) who have committed to working together to help revive the KZN tourism industry.
KZN has seen a decline in tourism numbers over the years, as shown by the downward trend of bookings in hospitality establishments.
However, Mandy Massey, chairperson of Southern Explorer, an association affiliated to Fedhasa, said the province has come a long way in its recovery efforts from the triple disasters of Covid-19, the July unrest and the April 2022 floods, and it needs to communicate that message to the rest of the world.
“There are a lot of things — we’re not just trumpeting our own horn when it comes to KZN, like the majority of beaches are fine at the moment, but we’re not telling people about it,” she said.
“What we need for tourism and hospitality is confidence: people need to know that beaches will be open and they will be able to book flights and accommodation.”
“The big thing is messaging more than anything else. We as the hospitality industry and all our colleagues from KZN need to get the narrative out of all the positive things that have been done, because a lot of things are being done.”
That is a sentiment shared by public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson.
“We spoke to the municipality around communication strategies to allow residents to better understand the state of beaches. To their credit 95% of beaches are open in eThekwini and that message needs to be delivered very clearly.”
The department has joined efforts to help the province recover in the tourism space.
KZN public works MEC Martin Meyer said bad buildings situated in prime areas — a mandate under his portfolio — contribute to the decay of inner city.
He said they are working with stakeholders to turn that around by handing these buildings over to municipalities and working with the private sector to rejuvenate them.
What we’ve seen in past when large beaches closures were announced is that occupancy and other sections of the province have been affected, so we’re hoping a lot of those issues can be addressed
— Brett Tungay, Fedhasa
“Though we’re not directly involved with tourism, we create the infrastructure that puts everything else in place and we’re very aware of all the shortcomings.”
Macpherson noted that as a coastal province, the beach was the main attraction for visitors and the uncertainty around the state of beaches and the lack of clarity were among the factors that have contributed to a decline in tourism.
A big factor contributing to the closure of beaches due to excessive E. coli levels was inadequate infrastructure because of a lack of maintenance and the disasters that have befallen the province.
“Infrastructure is not just a problem in this city, it’s a countrywide issue. We are in an infrastructure crisis in the country. We are not spending publicly and privately the amount of money that we should and it is now catching up with us,” he said.
That is why the department created the Project Preparation Fund, which it announced last week. The fund will see the department pay for projects' bulk infrastructure and wastewater treatment.
“We launched the fund to take the hard work out of municipalities and we’re doing it for them so we can create more bankable and feasible projects upfront.”
“The projects will still go to you (municipalities), but let us package, prepare and go to the market for you on those projects. We will deliver them to you and hand them over with a maintenance contract. We’re not taking anything away from the municipalities, but doing more for them in a quicker way.”
“If we can get that right — as we’re conceptualising it and taking it to parliament — then we could change the way that bulk infrastructure, water, waste and reticulation infrastructure are delivered in cities, so they are delivered on time and on budget.”
He said the department will also make its technical expertise, through Infrastructure South Africa, available to municipalities to assist in infrastructure building and maintenance.
Fedhasa’s Brett Tungay said the hospitality body is looking forward to being part of the solution.
“We also want to be part of working with all the public works buildings that are unoccupied, derelict and needing attention, and we will look at repurposing them,” he said.
The department is also looking at bringing back the blue flag status.
“We have to look at how to get that programme back on board and what we can do as the department of infrastructure to fix those problems that are upstream in the case of water, so we can get an internationally recognised system back in place that tourists have confidence in,” said Macpherson.
Tungay said the upcoming summer season promises to be a good one in terms of booking numbers.
“They are indicating a good summer season and that is predicated on the municipality delivering on the beaches. What we’ve seen in past when large beaches closures were announced is that occupancy and other sections of the province have been affected, so we’re hoping a lot of those issues can be addressed.”
Meanwhile, the city said it will be allocating R5.4m for various safety interventions at beaches ahead of the festive season.
A report outlining the allocation was tabled at Exco on Tuesday, with funds being reprioritised from the Beachfront Management Office.
The budget allocation for the planned safety interventions includes:
- R750,000 for a dedicated crane truck to manage the Traffic Management Plan before, during, and after the busy festive season period;
- R750,000 for the provision of ablution services at the drive-in site park and ride holding area;
- R300,000 for the provision of a dedicated 24-hour ambulance and tow truck services for the Central Beachfront. Ambulances will be based on the promenade to respond to surf rescues and provide an emergency response and will support the metro police, law enforcement and aquatic safety;
- R200,000 for the repairs and maintenance of beachfront manholes and paving;
- R200,000 for a dedicated plumber and shower maintenance before and during the festive season; and
- R2m will be spent on security for the park and ride buses and at the park and ride holding area.
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