Tourism reports on good season
Most survey respondents said the season had been as good as or better than the previous year's.
UGU South Coast Tourism has good news about the recent summer holiday season.
In his recent newsletter, tourism’s chief executive, Justin Mackrory, said all indications were that it had been a successful one, with media reports and water consumption figures suggesting a healthy growth in visitor volumes.
“There is a pleasing indication that our destination sustains its traditional markets,” Mr Mackrory said.
Although visitors had tended to be careful with their money, seasonal retail spending had been sustained and in some cases, had increased. He added that, while the season had started a bit late, visitor volumes had picked up dramatically towards Christmas and New Year’s Eve and even afterwards.
The issues of crime and safety still affected the South Coast’s reputation as a holiday destination. For this reason tourism would continue with its Sunny and Safe campaign. Mr Mackrory was also concerned about reports of continued tourism-related internet and letting scams and about excess numbers of visitors making use of booked accommodation.
To find out more about the summer season, tourism had conducted a snap survey. Mr Mackrory said 88 percent of respondents had reported a season that had been as good as or better than the previous one and 81 percent had said their bookings had been same or better, with 44 percent of these respondents reporting a growth in bookings.
The average occupancy had been calculated at 86 percent. An interesting development the South Coast was seeing was that while most foreign visitors came from the United Kingdom and Germany the area was starting to attract Cuban, Finnish and Indian tourists. Other trends reported were many incidents of repeat business from prior years but also, unfortunately, beach management issues putting off bookings and even possibly causing cancellations.
With price structuring favouring the customer, the local tourism industry’s value for money aspect was enhanced. Average stays varied between three, seven and 14 days, depending on location.Further good news from tourism was that Mr Mackrory was satisfied his organisation’s marketing and media actions were on target and earning the required dividends.
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