TOWNSHIP CRUISE LINE EXCURSION DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP HOSTED BY NMBM.

A cruise itinerary development workshop was held on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at Mendi Arts Centre in New Brighton.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, in collaboration with Akorn Destination Management, the ground handler for Silverseas ships, sponsored a cruise itinerary development workshop on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at Mendi Arts Centre in New Brighton.

The workshop corresponds with the visit of one of Silverseas' cruise liners, the Silver Whisper, which will dock on March 31, 2022. 
The session specifically focused on identifying new cruise itinerary options within New Brighton, Walmer Township, Betheldsorp as well as Motherwell. 

The Metro invited local tourist products as well as community tourism forums, which EDTA works with and supports in these communities. 

Due to its proximity to Eastern Cape Safari Options like Addo Elephant National Park and the several Private Game Reserves in the area, Nelson Mandela Bay is a popular stop for cruise ships visiting Southern Africa.
Nelson Mandela Bay's tourism economy relies heavily on cruise ships, which bring a large number of passengers and staff to the city's coastlines. 

This group of tourists takes tours and visits picturesque areas, contributing to the local economy by spending vital tourism rands.
After seeing a rise in the number of cruise ship visits prior to Covid 19, Cllr Mkhuseli Jack, Portfolio Head for Economic Development, Tourism, and Agriculture said that it was imperative to plan and strategize the development of this industry in order to achieve higher economic returns for the city as well as position the city as a preferred destination for cruise lines.

"Prior to Covid 19, the Nelson Mandela Bay Cruise Ship Steering Committee created a Nelson Mandela Bay Cruise Strategy to guarantee Nelson Mandela Bay becomes a national leader and destination of choice for cruise lines visiting South Africa, as well as for the city to thrive in the cruise line business,"said Jack. 

"The strategy, particularly after the devastation caused by Covid-19 to the tourism industry provides clear direction to the City, all  major industry stakeholders and regional partners. It  outlines priority action areas that will assist us in attaining our cruise industry growth potential, "he said. 

The Nelson Mandela Bay Management Board (NMBM), in collaboration with Transnet, the private sector, and other stakeholders, has already begun to implement the turn around strategy with the hopes of growing and developing cruise tourism in the City, thereby contributing to job growth and economic development.

The strategy focuses on maximizing the local economic potential that this industry may provide for the city by stimulating infrastructure investment, improving visitor experiences and increasing regional dispersion.

"The overall spend from Cruiseline dockings in our Harbour exceeded R30 million during the 2018/19 season. We saw a considerable increase in the number of cruise ships visiting our ports.

The 2019/20 season would have seen a significant rise in cruiseline visits to 34, but the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic", concluded Jack. 

According to Paul Burning of Akorn Destination Management, the Municipality and Akorn conducting a Workshop together is a message of optimism and hope for the future regeneration of our economy.

"We are here as Akorn to assist in the development of products to engage more young people in the tourism business and to boost the economic effect of tourism, notably the cruise ships, in Nelson Mandela Bay townships.

"We have committed to spending time in the community doing workshops, advising tour operators on product development, and mentoring start-ups in the tourist industry on how to piece themselves together. We will also be assisting with training tour guides on how to interact with cruise ships, how to interact with cruise customers, and the special abilities they'll need so that when the ship arrives, they'll be the first ones to be contacted, "said Burning. 

"As one guide put it, we need to modify the guides' profiles to fit the environments in which they operate." he said. 
Moving forward, the community will create a number of products to offer to Akorn, who will then combine them into a viable package and give it to the cruise clients.