Talking tourism ahead of summer season

The safety of visitors to the South Coast is paramount, according to MEC for Finance, Ravi Pillay.

MEC Pillay was speaking as a representative for the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube at a tourism media briefing also attended by Tourism-Natal and Gagasi FM, held at Umdlalo Lodge in Umtentweni recently.

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“That should be the municipality’s number one priority and Mayor Cynthia Mqwebu should marshal her forces to ensure people’s protection is not taken lightly.”

MEC Pillay also pointed out that although Ugu District Municipality may have some challenges, it should make an “extraordinary effort” to ensure the security and reliability of the water supply over the festive period.

“The bottom line is – water supply throughout the year, but especially in December, is critical to maintaining our tourist market share and growing it, going forward.”

He reiterated that the sustainability of municipalities depended on strong revenue, which in turn is derived from a strong economy.

He encouraged Ugu South Coast Tourism to keep the South Coast on the tourism radar.

“When it comes to numbers, our province is anticipating quite a sizable number of visitors, with projections of income of R3-billion for this period alone as a result of 1.1 million domestic trips and 117 500 international arrivals from December 1 to January 16. ”

The MEC added that there were many exciting tourism-related events planned for the province which would cement KZN’s place in the sun amongst the nations of the world.

“The job of Ugu South Coast Tourism and all stakeholders is to make sure the seed of tourism germinates, blossoms and grows into the kind of strong tree that tourism can be.”

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