Tavern of Hidden Treasures

A BLOOMING BUSINESS for over 8 years, Jeya’s Jazz Tavern has proven itself a force to be reckoned with when it was the first tavern to be honored as one of the South African Hidden Treasures™ - conquering the tourism industry and paving the way for other small, medium and micro enterprises.

Noxolo Sume, co-owner along with husband Jeya – after whom the pub is named, acknowledged Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT), the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism agency for their ongoing support and encouragement at a lunch on Friday hosted at the tavern.

The little pub on the corner in New Brighton will be attending Indaba – one of the biggest tourism events again this year. NMBT in collaboration with NMBM Tourism Unit has selected a handful of SMME’s to attend Indaba thus providing these tourism businesses to gain experience in product marketing, an opportunity to make new contacts and gain greater exposure for their products.

“We have really seen the impact of this initiative,” said Titus Chuene, Marketing Manager of NMBT. “Jeya’s Jazz Tavern is a leading example of the powerful spinoffs bringing SMME’s to Indaba can have.  The vibrant township tavern has recently been added to the South African Hidden Treasures™ experiences list along with eight other tourism products in our city and it is partly due to the profiling it received at expos like Indaba.”
 
Being an exhibitor in previous years, Jeya’s has reaped the rewards of Indaba and the tavern has seen its business flourish with tourists visiting from all around the globe.

“We started this tavern eight years ago with only ten cases of beer, my husband and I were both unemployed. I never thought we would get this far. It’s a long road, but it’s more than just selling liquor, it’s marketing and I’ve got to thank NMBT and NMBM for helping us with that. They took interest in us and took the journey with us,” said Noxolo Sume. “We’ve learnt a lot from them over the years and we look forward to going to Indaba again this year.”

Other SMME’s going along for the first time this year; include the Red Location Backpackers Lodge and Zureen’s Guesthouse (Uitenhage). Noxolo wishes them the best, “They must make the best of this, Indaba can really open doors for your business if you approach it with the right attitude.”

“We are extremely proud of what Noxolo and her husband have achieved. We are even more flattered that they have shared the ‘Hidden Treasures’ award with us. They set an amazing example to other SMME’s. With hard work, drive and a little help you can make a success. Being part of Jeya’s success story is a privilege to us at NMBT,” said Mandlakazi Skefile, NMBT CEO.

By sharing her success with her community, Noxolo has a good sense of marketing, believes Carleen Arends, assistant director of tourism at NMBM.

“She gives back to her community – she supplied kit to as soccer team who could not afford it. This is only one of the ways she has ploughed back to the community,” Arends added. “She truly is a go-getter and always willing to learn, she’ll phone me late at night for advice. That is testament to the kind of person it takes to run a successful SMME.”

Noxolo and her husband have the right mix of personalities to make a success of Jeyas, “My husband and I work hard. We are very different, but in all the right ways. People say I am successful, but it takes hard work from both of us, and our staff. This road is not finished; this award is just a sign that we are on the right track and making progress. Success is a journey, and I am glad to be on it with my husband and the ongoing support of my city and its people,” added Noxolo.

NMBT also made use of the celebrations on Friday to elaborate on the agency’s activities planned for this year’s Indaba.  Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism together with the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) will be taking the city’s Top 10 icons to Indaba. The city agencies will also be launching Route 67, Nelson Mandela Bay’s incredible new public art route at Indaba.

‘We are particularly excited for this year’s Indaba as we are going to launch the MBDA’s Route 67. This is great because the center-piece of Route 67, the Donkin Reserve, is one of the recently voted Top Ten city icons,” said Chuene.   “Indaba is all about exposure and we are aiming to gain enough exposure for Nelson Mandela Bay to cement the city’s presence in the existing target markets but also in new and developing target markets such as China and India,” he added.

Indaba, a South African Tourism initiative, is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three “must visit” events of its kind on the global calendar attracting over 13 000 delegates from the travel, tourism and related industries throughout the world.  It takes place from May 12 – 15 at the Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban.