THE presidential call to close of beaches amidst the Covid-19 second wave has had a dire impact on local tourism. This is according to Sodurba Community Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) chairperson Helga du Preez.
“The closing of beaches over the December period had a major detrimental impact on Sodurba as well as the Bluff’s tourism and economy. Our beaches are the main reason for the holiday makers during the festive season. Our booking occupancy showed a major decline compared with the average of 75 per cent in December 2019 to an average of 40 per cent in December 2020.
“This is very sad news for us as a lot of tourism related products were relying on the festive season to survive. Sodurba put an extensive marketing platform in place for our members and urged them all to entice visitors with attractive offers and specials however this was an epic fail. With many tourism businesses closing down, Sodurba will continue to help market and support its members to its best ability and try to build more packages in order to bring tourism back. Bottom line is that all our greatest efforts were a lost cause, a vain attempt,” said du Preez.
The CTO is currently offering four tour packages to the Old Whaling Station in hopes to increase the interest in the area again.
To book a tour or for more information contact Sodurba via email on bluffwhalingcommunity@gmail.com or call 071-143-1235 or visit their webpage www.sodurba.co.za.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. For any comments or queries, contact the National Group Editor, Irma Green at irma@caxton.co.za or the Legal Adviser, Helene Eloff at helene@caxton.co.za.
DID YOU KNOW? Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 876 3179 The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?
Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist. (Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)