Durban — The head of the Department of Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) Nhlakanipho Nkontwana said the tourism sector was recovering well.
He hailed domestic tourists who have led the sector’s recovery and continue to be the backbone of the industry, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.
Nkontwana was speaking at the launch of Tourism Month, held at Midmar Dam in Howick, on Thursday under the theme “Rethink Tourism”.
He said this year’s theme was appropriate as they rebuild the industry after it was devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In 2021, KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism sector welcomed over 2.6 million domestic travellers and for the first six months of this year, the number was already over 2.2 million and on track to beat last year’s total number of travellers by a landslide.
“If I compare our quarter one 2022 domestic tourist figures with those of the other provinces, we are well on the road to recovery and we anticipate that we could beat our pre-Covid tourism figures,” he said.
He said another indicator of recovery was hotel occupancy, with the trend in KZN being upward and equal to that of 2019.
They also lobbied the KZN tourism trade to offer consumers specials ahead of the festive season. He said the province was leading the pack and had offered 40 more “specials” than other provinces.
He, however, said the rate of transformation in the tourism sector remained slow, Without it, the continued growth and development of the industry was not guaranteed.
uMngeni mayor Chris Papas said: “When we talk about supporting the government we talk about creating and enabling the environment. “We cannot have tourism if we are not modern and moving with the times. We cannot have tourism if our rural areas are not accessible.”
Among the delegates at the launch event were the mayor of Umgungundlovu district Mzi Zuma and the mayor of uMshwathi Municipality Mandla Zondi.
Daily News