Sodurba CTO settles into new home

SODURBA Community Tourism Organisation (CTO) has a new home which can be found at the heart of Bluff’s environmental gem, Wessa Treasure Beach.

“The municipality terminated its lease with the church where we had our old office. So we had to be out by the end of December. At the time we didn’t have anywhere to go and we put all our things in storage. The move affected us an organisation because we didn’t have anywhere to meet with our members, guests and prospective tourists. We were stranded as an organisation. We were trying to find affordable space, luckily Wessa came to our rescue after putting it out to the committee that we were in dire need of a place to operate,” said Helga du Preez, Sodurba CTO chairperson.

READ: Sodurba Tourism hit hard by beach closure

The CTO is situated on the premises of the educational centre in a converted container, clearly visible and open to the public. Helga explained that this is temporary placement while Durban Tourism together with eThekwini Municipality looks for a permanent space for Sodurba.

“We moved in here on Monday, 1 March and have found the area to be quite safe and comfortable. It has been an adjustment but we are very grateful for what we’ve got.” Anyone visiting Sodurba can expect to be welcomed by its new interns who are also part of the Blue Flag Beach Steward Programme, Abongile Makhunga, who studied travel and tourism and Bianca Naidoo who studied aviation to be a flight attendant. Both are eager to learn more about local tourism and be at the community’s service.

After weathering the storms of the previous year, Sodurba now looks forward to making the most of 2021. “Last year we had to cancel our Welcoming of the Whales Festival due to Covid-19. But this year we have decided to go ahead with the festival although under major adjustments. We cannot have a festival like in the past where we hosted a lot of people and had different activities on offer to the public. We are going to have pre-booked tours to the old whaling station. We hope this will take place on Saturday, 25 June. The focus will be on the migration and arrival of the whales, history of the area, conservation and education around responsible tourism.”

Sodurba’s proposals for the whale watching viewpoints along the Bluff’s coastline are also taking shape, with the Airlie Road viewpoint already looking good. Signage and educational boards will be placed soon. Next up is Netford Road which will be underway soon.

READ: Bluff scenic viewpoint takes shape

“Each viewpoint is intended to have its own story that will tie into the whale heritage status. We are very excited about this and to see it coming into fruition.” Sunday tours to the old whaling stations have stopped as the military base has prohibited public space into the area due to lockdown. However, all other activities, tours and services offered by the CTO are available under Covid-19 measures.

READ: Sodurba offers a whale of fun this festive

“Sodurba is happy that the city has announced an increase in funding for all CTOs. With the devastating 2020 we all had, especially in the tourism sector, this now gives us room to help members further their marketing for the businesses and to also establish our CTO further.

“Sodurba’s business plan for 2021 and with the increased funding available decided to concentrate on brand marketing and upgrading our route experiences, ultimately offering packages that are of great interest to people and inviting them to visit the South of Durban. Focusing on our whale route experience with the help of our partners, eThekwini Municipality and WildOceans, we are excited to see that this route is becoming something of the city to talk about.

“We decided to get more branding for the CTO and our members. We are going to acquaint a photographer on a contract basis to take professional photos for all our members. These photos will be used to design a digital flyer to market on our platforms as well as Durban Tourism. We are also going to edit and update our tourism video. We are also looking into having a photo booth here on the Bluff, a new whale structure similar to Destiny as well as an online shop for our members,” said Helga who encouraged the community to support Sodurba and work together to uplift the Bluff into a prime tourist attraction.

Sodurba offices can be found at 835 Marine Drive, Bluff. For more information call 071-143-1235 or visit their website www.sodurba.co.za    

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