THE eThekwini Municipality launched a comprehensive Economic Development and Visitor Strategy designed to position Durban as the gateway to Africa and as an investment partner of choice.
The aim is to attract five million tourists annually to the city and to inject about R10-million into the economy, while supporting 74 000 jobs.
A key component of the strategy focuses on growing the brand of Durban, leveraging on the city’s infrastructure and showcasing the
visitor experience to new markets.
“Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy and is central to job creation, youth employment, as well as creating various economic opportunities. Estimated at 30 per cent of KwaZulu-Natal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), tourism is a major job creator in the province. Hosting major events has a positive impact on the province and increases the potential for Durban as a leading events’ destination in Africa,” said eThekwini Municipality mayor, James Nxumalo.
The Durban Visitors Strategy is aligned to both the national and provincial tourism strategies. Currently 3.8-million tourists visit Durban, generating R5.7-billion for the regional economy supporting 61 000 jobs. This would fall to 3.5-million tourists spending R5.9-billion (at current prices not taking into account inflation) and supporting only 56 000 jobs. By not boosting regional tourism, these figures are predicted to decline below the current levels by 2020.
Durban will focus on its core markets in Gauteng, UK, US, Germany, India, and China, while developing potential from new markets in Namibia, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, France, Singapore and Mozambique.
“Taking Durban to the world means we need to change how we look at the world and how we do things,” said Phillip Sithole, eThekwini Municipality’s head of Business Support, Tourism and Markets Unit.
