DURBAN Tourism is expecting large numbers of tourists to visit the City this weekend and boost the economy. A number of international and local events planned for the weekend are also expected to attract locals and out of town visitors alike.
Mayor James Nxumalo, said the City was optimistic that numbers will continue to rise steadily over the Easter holiday period and the city would be able to make a meaningful contribution to the Provincial GDP.
“We are positive that this year we will have a good Easter weekend in terms of tourist numbers due to a number of factors, including the major events we have hosted recently, which have created a great platform for us to market our city both locally and abroad. We are expecting around 90% hotel occupancy rate in our accommodation establishments and a total economic activity in excess of R500million,” he said.
Nxumalo further explained that “in the past 12 months, the City has managed to earn more than R1bn in total economic spin-offs from events and a further R1.5bn in PR and media value. This has enabled us to create more than 10 000 jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector, while continuing to rubber stamp the position of Durban as a leading tourist destination.”
“Furthermore, if you look at the number of international and local events that have hosted during the month of March alone, including events like the TI concert, the International Jazz Extravaganza and the Nicki Minaj tour, we have managed to create the much-needed momentum towards the Easter weekend and are confident that this interest will translate to tourist numbers in the City,” added Nxumalo.
Visitors to Durban can look forward to major upcoming events including the Durban Picnic Day which offers a fun family day with activities and entertainment for everyone.
This year visitors can expect to be marveled by big stars like Casper Nyovest, Micasa, AKA, Mathew Mole, Gangs of Ballet, Nasty C, EMTEE, WTF and many other household names in the music and entertainment industry.
