TOURISM NEWS - The recent summer season report tabled by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s acting Director of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Wandisile Makwabe, showed a significant drop in accommodation bed occupancy across Nelson Mandela Bay.
Bed occupancy fell to 57% in the 2024 summer season, down from 64% in 2023 and even further from the 69% recorded in 2019 before the pandemic.
Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL, DA Leader of the Official Opposition in the Eastern Cape Legislature, says this is more than a tourism statistic.
“It is a red flag for the entire Eastern Cape economy and a stark reminder of how fragile job creation is in our province.
“This is not a localised slump. It is part of a broader pattern of economic stagnation that has taken root under the current administration’s mismanagement.”
Knoetze says every empty guesthouse room represents lost income, lost seasonal jobs, and lost growth opportunities. “The tourism sector is one of the Eastern Cape’s most promising industries. It is labour-intensive, diverse, and spread across urban and rural areas. And yet, despite this potential, the provincial government has no real tourism recovery strategy, no marketing campaign worth mentioning, and no urgency.”
She says the Eastern Cape is losing ground to other provinces. “Visitors are choosing cleaner, safer, and more efficiently run destinations. Crime, grime, and crumbling infrastructure are chasing tourists and investors away.”
Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL, DA Leader of the Official Opposition in the Eastern Cape Legislature
Knoetze wants Premier Oscar Mabuyane to host a tourism indaba with all relevant stakeholders and government departments. “We need a strategic, coordinated response that deals with critical road infrastructure, safety plans and support initiatives,” she says.
“In the interim, we demand immediate action from the provincial government to deploy additional law enforcement resources, restore visible policing, and implement provincial tourism clean-up campaigns ahead of the Easter holidays.”
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
