NMBT joins forces with hotel to promote city

NELSON Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) has teamed up with Summerstrand Hotel ahead of Tourism Month in September to both launch and test a package that will promote the city’s tourism offerings through the Nelson Mandela Bay Pass.

The Pass is a smartcard access card that provides people with free admission to a variety of attractions and activities in the city including museums, game reserves, scuba diving, art galleries, sightseeing tours by train, bus, boat, and more.

“The Nelson Mandela Bay Pass offers flexibility, convenience, variety and savings,” said Titus Chuene, NMBT’s marketing manager. “We wanted to test how well it works with tourists and we had some interest from the Summerstrand Hotel, so we joined forces in offering their guests a weekend package which includes two night’s accommodation and the Pass for R1500 as a pilot project.”

NMBT said that is was commendable that a hotel was supporting the tourism industry by promoting the city’s attractions and activities by including the Pass in their packages.

“We want to encourage other hotels and accommodation to also arrange package deals that include the Pass so the industry as a whole works to promote the tourism product offerings and activities in the city,” said Chuene.

The current package, piloted by Summerstrand Hotel, was launched in June and will run through to the end of Tourism Month, September.

“We needed to stimulate weekend business at the hotel and thought an active collaboration with NMBT would be a great way to do so,” said Nicolette Saayman, marketing manager of the Summerstrand Hotel. “The pilot has been going well, we’ve had some interest and we hope it’s going to grow because this is an awesome idea for promoting Nelson Mandela Bay.”

The idea behind the Pass was to increase the attractiveness of Nelson Mandela Bay by increasing promotion of and visitation to the city attractions and activities, said NMBT officials.

The Pass also entitles also entitles visitors to discounts in selected stores for shopping, activities, restaurants, and entertainment.

“If this pilot project is successful we will roll it out into the other hotels and accommodation providers in the city,” added Chuene. “The Nelson Mandela Bay Pass is your passport to discovering the local's best kept secrets.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay Visitors Pass is available in 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, and 7 days and regularly costs R250. It can be purchased at visitor information centres at the airport, Uitenhage, on the Donkin Reserve and at The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment Complex.