Sapphire Coast Tourism (SCT) celebrated another successful festive period in Toti, although celebrations were marred by a negative response by law enforcement.
“While we desperately welcomed rain locally, our overcast skies leading up to Christmas put a dampener on the promenade activities,” said Kim.
“Room occupancies were pleasantly around 95% between Christmas and New Year, leaving unplanned holidaying families arriving at the coast in the hope of finding something being ushered towards hotels in Durban.”
Two 4×4 wheelchairs were available at Toti main beach over the festive season for the disabled community to enjoy a swim in the sea. This was a first for the region and proved a great hit. “This facility proved to be Toti’s most memorable and proudest service,” said Kim.
SCT conducted a survey over the festive season, questioning about 2,000 visitors across all of Toti’s swimming beaches between 17 and 31 December. The survey found 61% of visitors came from Gauteng. A total of 92% used their own vehicles, of which 37% were staying with family or friends. The most popular mode of holidaying was in self-catering establishments, with bed and breakfast establishments used 29% of the time. The average length of stayovers was five to seven days. Afrikaans speaking people made up 68% of visitors, with English speakers at 22%.
“We have noticed a decline in the number of visiting families, while groups of singles and couples are on the up, with 90% saying our beaches are their primary attraction. A total of 77% were return visitors and 91% said they will definitely return,” said Kim.
“Observations on what our city needs to focus on was found in talking to people who wanted to get into Durban and beyond to engage in season festivities. They saw our transport infrastructure as inflexible and a rip-off at times. Taxi sedans charge up to R15 per kilometre and local shuttle services appeared to retract from night runs. Trains are dirty with no security.
Despite law enforcement declaring zero tolerance towards day revellers, regrettably, once again, this did not come to fruition. The disconnect in communication between law enforcement had noticeably broken down with regards to the agreed roadblocks leading into Beach Road from both entrances, resulting in the permit system as a total waste of time and public funds. Taxis and revellers selfishly disobeyed all regulations, wreaking havoc until early hours of the morning.
We praise our beach management and their teams for their boldness in holding down the fort here in Toti. For a handful of dedicated men and women to have to handle crowds in excess of 18,000 at time is remarkable.
SCT wishes our community and all stakeholders heaps of positive opportunities to capitalise on throughout 2016,” said Kim.
