Long weekend economic boost beats Easter

Ballito restaurants and accommodation letting agents reported a huge influx of holidaymakers over the long weekend compared to the Easter weekend.

Booking figures indicate letting agents had their hands full managing large visitor numbers, while eateries said they were run off their feet to keep up with demand.

It appears business volumes have now reached levels of trade experienced prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the floods which ravaged the coast last year.

According to Cyberview Letting’s Inus van Schalkwyk, they had to try and help visitors find accommodation after being fully booked.

“I think everyone was booked 100% by Friday,” he said, highlighting that some holidaymakers began arriving as early as last Wednesday. The letting agency manages units between Ballito, Chaka’s Rock and Salt Rock.

Parson’s Holiday Letting was equally busy with all its 45 units taken.

“I think what made this long weekend so successful was that it is the more affordable option for many as opposed to Easter,” said booking agent, Natasha Pretorius.

Parson’s had been fully booked out by Thursday last week, with some guests only leaving on Monday.

Ballito restaurant Mozambik reported it had to operate with a full staff complement to keep up.

The restaurant’s head of training and development, Nicole Hort, said they reached their capacity of 350 patrons on Friday and Sunday.

Further north at Chaka’s Rock, general manager at Two on Main, Kevin Moodley, said the long weekend was ‘beautiful’ for business.

“We did far better than Easter,” he said, noting the busiest days for them were Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Anton Petzer, who co-manages four restaurants at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre said business was excellent, with fine dining restaurant 45 on Eat Street and Lupa his busiest venues.

“We either met or exceeded our targets. The long weekend was a far better period for us than Easter,” he said, noting that lunchtime on Monday was still just as busy.

iLembe Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism CEO, Cobus Oelofse, said the consensus was that the hospitality trade performed better than the Easter weekend.

“Initial occupancy levels were low, but there was a huge increase in bookings closer to April 27,” he said.

Across the region figures were in the 85% range for accommodation bookings.

“Occupancy levels are fast catching up to those we had four years ago, which was the last normal trading period for comparison purposes,” said Oelofse.

Ballito Junction also reported increased trade, with foot traffic up 11% compared to the same time last year.

“We were very pleased with the busy, long weekend, which was better than the Easter weekend,” said Ballito Junction CEO Geraldine Jorgensen.

The increased number of visitors also caught KwaDukuza lifeguards off guard, but they easily rose to the challenge.

“The sheer number of visitors took us by surprise with the long weekend being as busy as Easter,” said Lifeguard superintendent, Bongani Xulu.

No incidents were reported at any beaches, Xulu concluded.

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