April makes tourism industry smile

WITH a month like April upon us, the Nelson Mandela Bay tourism industry will be smiling. The month is flanked on either side by two weeks of holidays – coupled with a menu of exciting festivals, international sporting events, a global star performing exclusively in Nelson Mandela Bay, many activities on offer in the city and great late summer weather ahead to top it all off.

There is something quite special about this time in Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape. In many ways this is a uniquely family time, where December can be both family and party orientated.

The general feeling during April is one of a celebration of the awesome lifestyle in Nelson Mandela Bay, outdoor living, sports and family activities.

Firstly the Eastern Cape school holidays start today and towards the end of the month there are a series of public holidays as well as Easter. The city has capitalized on this distinctive flood of holidays to showcase the best the city has to offer, from sports to entertainment. The school holidays are an opportunity to be a tourist in your own city with your children. Many of the local attractions not only need support from visitors to the city, but from locals who need to take ownership of our tourism assets.

But we are also expecting a massive influx of out-of-towners this month. The Ironman South Africa is truly the big tourism drawcard for April and generates a massive economic injection for Nelson Mandela Bay, particularly for the tourism industry. The Ironman South Africa saw a total tourism turnover of R43-million last year, and expects to reach R48-million this year.

The South African Tourism Index revealed that the average Ironman tourist spent approximately R1 280 per day over a typical stay of seven and a half days. This is crucial information for our tourism product owners, who can benefit directly from the event.

These figures illustrate the impact of events on the city in terms of cold hard cash, but there are plenty other positive impacts on tourism. The more successful events we host, the more the city learns. The 2010 FIFA World Cup proved that we are capable of great things, and each time we have yet another successful event in Nelson Mandela Bay the more the city benefits from good reputation and tourism kudos.

In addition, the city is also playing host to Canadian pop singer, Justin Hines. He is performing exclusively in Nelson Mandela Bay. This is exactly what the city needs, unique magnets that draw people from around South Africa to an event here. His only public performance in South Africa at will be at the Nelson Mandela Bay Splash Festival at Hobie Beach on Saturday, April 23.

Splash Festival also boasts a local entertainment line-up to be proud of: Loyiso Bala, New Afroteens and Barry Hilton, amongst others. And with that cast of side-splitting entertainment, it’s no wonder that the tourism industry will be smiling over April.

Happy Easter to the Nelson Mandela Bay Christian community and happy holidays to the children and those enjoying the public holidays.

Mandlakazi Skefile
NMBT chief executive