It is estimated that the tourism industry in KwaZulu-Natal will generate a profit of R1.9 billion this winter, as more than 920 000 tourists are expected to arrive during these holidays.
This is expected to happen between June 26 to July 20, and it will be an increase in the number of tourists if it ends up happening that way since at the same time last year there were about 860 035 tourists, and a profit of R1.8 billion came into the tourism economy.
The Minister of Economic Development, Tourism and Conservation, Mfu Musa Zondi said that their indicators and research at this time indicate that their industry continues to be stable, which makes them expect very good figures.
“These figures we expect show that our province is still attracting more tourists, despite the fact that there are conditions that disturb the stability of our economy – but people who love to visit continue to trust us,” said Zondi.
Continuing, he said that another thing that works for them is that the province has beautiful and different things that entertain and attract tourists from different places, so that everyone who visits has the opportunity to enjoy whatever is relevant to them.
This holiday season has already started to have a positive impact on tourism as the Comrades Marathon has recently concluded, attracting about 21,000 runners, including 2,500 from 80 different countries.
And now it is expected that the same trend will continue in the different events that will follow, including the Hollywoodbets Durban July, Ballito Pro, Durban International Film Festival and other entertainment and sports events across the province.
The Chairman of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, Mr. Brett Tungay said: “We are looking for it to go very well on our side of places to eat and sleep because of the large number of people we expect to visit KZN.”
The general manager of the Midlands Meander Association, Ms Tegan Peacock, said: “We are happy to see people who love tourism change their footing by not focusing on one thing, which helps to benefit different areas at this time.”
Zondi said that one of the things that makes them happy at this time is that there will be an increase in different job opportunities that will benefit many people, especially the youth because they are the ones who need them the most.