The ‘Sky Dinning’ experience at Suncoast for the festive season. Here guests are seen admiring the Durban beachfront skylineHigh res pic to come!
Suren Naidoo
DURBAN’S hosting of the huge UN 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) climate change summit will not displace December tourists to the city. In fact it will mean a pre-festive season bonanza for the KwaZulu-Natal tourism industry.
That’s the word from James Seymour, chief executive of the Durban-KwaZulu-Natal Conventions Bureau, speaking to The Mercury at the regional Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) Christmas lunch last week.
“Unlike the Fifa World Cup last June and July, which displaced a lot of domestic and business tourism during Durban’s busy and balmy winter holidays, fortunately COP17 takes place just before the festive season tourism influx,” he said.
“Schools actually officially close for the holidays after COP17 and generally most people go on leave after that… In addition, speaking from my research while working at Tourism KZN, local hotels only really start getting packed from mid-December and the high tourism season runs into the first week of January.
“Actually, I think this will be Durban’s best December tourism season with more than 20 000 COP17 delegates, activists and media. The climate change conference ends on December 9, the day that schools in KZN close.”
A man cycles in front of a makeshift baobab tree during the COP17 (Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Climate Change) in Durban November 28, 2011. People can cycle on the bicycles provided to generate electricity to power the lights on the baobab tree. Almost 200 nations began global climate talks on Monday with time running out to save the Kyoto Protocol aimed at cutting the greenhouse gas emissions scientists blame for rising sea levels, intense storms, drought and crop failures. The COP17 runs until December 9. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA – Tags: ENVIRONMENT ENERGY SOCIETY)
Reuters
Seymour estimated that the economic impact of direct and indirect spending by climate change delegates alone would conservatively be about R400 million.
“The R50m that the city spent on hosting this event should not be seen as a cost but an investment.
“We also need to realise that 15-20 percent of COP17 spending will come back to government in taxes. This is a major global event that will generate huge publicity for Durban and South Africa. That is why there was such intensive competition between Cape Town, Joburg and Durban to secure hosting rights to COP17,” he said.
Durban Tourism chief executive Phillip Sithole agreed with Seymour, saying the city was in for a great December holiday season.
“The 2011 December festive season is certainly going to go down as one of the best for the Durban tourism industry. Besides COP17 business, I’ve already been told by industry players that forward hotel bookings for the rest of December are higher than this time last year,” he said.
“Durban is South Africa’s domestic tourism capital because of its location within driving distance of Joburg and other parts of the country. It is also seen as a value-for-money destination compared to other coastal spots.
“In addition, we’ve made huge investments in our tourist infrastructure such as the upgraded beachfront promenades in Durban and Umhlanga. Moses Mabhida Stadium is also a big new tourist attraction.”
Sithole said the climate change conference was being hosted in Durban at the perfect time, ahead of the festive season and in a year when the industry had suffered as a result of the global economic situation.
Gerhard Patzer, the regional chairman of Fedhasa, said with more than 161 000 bed nights sold at KZN hotels for the conference, the tourism and hospitality industry was in for a double whammy money-spinner in December.
“This is going to bigger than the Fifa World Cup because the more than 20 000 COP17 delegates will be in one city for an extended period of time. Many of them are high-spending business and government leaders,” he said.
Patzer called on the industry and Durbanites to welcome delegates warmly and go out of their way to help.
“This is good for Durban… The hospitality industry must not rip off delegates. Even offering a free cup of tea or coffee will go a long way in making a good impression so that they come back to visit South Africa,” he said.
