Q and A with Ugu’s CEO of tourism
The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown has been tough for everyone worldwide, the KZN South Coast is therefore not different.
The opening of the beaches is a welcome development for the South Coast.
The Herald spoke to Ugu South Coast Tourism CEO Phelisa Mangcu about how the closure of the beaches had affected the coast.
“As you know, our beautiful beaches are the primary attraction that bring tourists to our destination and their closure was obviously devastating to local businesses in general (and not only tourism businesses),” said Ms Mangcu.
Q: How tough has lockdown been on the coast’s tourism sector?
The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown has been tough for everyone worldwide, the KZN South Coast is therefore not different. Some businesses in the KZN South Coast have reported closing and some cut down on their staff numbers
Q: Any suggestions on how businesses can try to pick themselves up?
While Ugu South Coast Tourism is doing its best to market the destination and attract tourists to come to the KZN South Coast and therefore spend their money here; it is equally important that tourism businesses do their best as well in trying to:
1. Make sure that they meet not only the tourism industry standards in terms of best service they provide;
2. Meet the Covid-19 protocols set out by government and the World Health Organisation;
3. Meeting the industry standards and Covid-19 protocols will assist them in attracting business to their establishments.
Q: Does tourism have some plans to promote the coast trying to recover from lockdown?
In July 2020, Ugu South Coast Tourism developed the Tourism Recover Strategy which focuses on the need to:
1. Work towards the recovery of tourism on the KZN South Coast in order to ensure that tourism businesses continue operating and those that had closed can open again.
2. Market the destination cost-effectively and focus our messaging to emphasise the widespread diversity of our destination offerings smartly using digital channels.
The recovery strategy further states the need to focus on development in order to:
1. Expand the geographical footprint of tourists to rural communities
2. Support the development of new experiences and promote rural tourism development
3. Create awareness about tourism in rural communities, and
4. Respond to the current financial conditions, reduce operational costs while delivering on our business objectives.
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