THE influx of domestic and international travellers to KZN will augur well for the provincial economy, says Tourism KwaZulu-Natal.
With 1,1 million domestic trips and 117 500 international arrivals projected this festive season from 1 December to 16 January, holidaymakers will be spoilt for choice with over 30 events from across KZN to keep them engaged, entertained and on the go.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, said the festive season should be a time to relax, unwind and ponder the positive prospects of the new year, and do all of this without worrying about your safety.
“We want holidaymakers to feel safe. We are working hard with law enforcement agencies to ensure an incident-free time in all areas of our province, be it at the beach, game reserves, accommodation or even on the road. We understand that issues of safety can have an adverse impact on the tourism industry,” she said.
Dube-Ncube said furthermore, as a province they have pulled out all the stops to ensure that holidaymakers are spoilt for choice all around the province to encourage geographical spread of visitors and the economic impact of the season is felt throughout the province.
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“Our projections are that the economic impact for this period alone is estimated at R2.3 billion,” she said.
To mark the beginning of the holiday period, KZN will roll out the “Do KZN, Do Summer” campaign to entice those holidaymakers who have not finalised their summer holiday plan to “Do their summer in KZN.”
Tourism KZN will also have a booth at the Mall of Africa on 7 December in Gauteng where consumers can book their holidays to the province in real time.
Giving insights on this campaign, acting CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Phindile Makwakwa, said: “Gauteng and other landlocked provinces are among our biggest domestic key source markets. We really want to give those who haven’t yet finalised their plans for the summer season an opportunity to book their holidays on the spot. We also looked at the travel trends and more and more people are opting to take their breaks beyond December. Hence, our activation will also target those who prefer to travel once their children have returned to school and who perhaps seek some romantic time with their partners for Valentine’s Day.”
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To ensure that holidaymakers are equipped with all the information they need to make their holidays seamless and memorable, Tourism KZN will be distributing information packs at various tollgates around KZN containing useful visitor information such as a calendar of events, exciting things to do in KZN and safety tips.
“We also encourage all our visitors to download the KZN Travel Guide APP so that they have vital information on more travel packages for their next holiday, events around the province, restaurants, hotels and tourism experiences at their fingertips,” concluded Makwakwa.
Loads of surprises around the province will include a ball pit at the Gateway Theatre of Shopping and flash mobs that will create many Instagramable moments for holidaymakers.
KEEP track of the hottest events taking place in eThekwini metro:
The Umgidi Festival is on 8 December.
The Inanda Music Festival is on 15 December.
The Soulful Jazz Experience ison 21 December.
The Durban Jazz Festival is on 26 December.
The Lamontville Summer Fiesta is on 26 December.
Durban Summer Beach Festival will run from 26 December to 1 January.
Fact Durban Rocks is on 31 December.
Woze Durban will be on 1 January.
To find out more about the experiences you can enjoy in KZN, visit: www.zulu.org.za.
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