The city will host the first ever Durban Tourism Business Awards in May to reward excellence and innovation in the tourism sector.

This is one of the strategies implemented to rejuvenate the tourism economy which was negatively impacted by COVID-19.

For the awards, the winner in each category will walk away with prizes of a monetary value of up to R50 000, a laptop, iPad or tablet, development and maintenance of a website for six months, as well as complimentary data for six months.

The awards will be streamed lived on various digital platforms including Durban Tourism social media platforms.

The awards will be held in May, around the same time as the Tourism Indaba which will see captains of the industry from across the globe learn about the city’s many attractions.

The first phase of the awards opened on December 14, 2021 for business owners to enter top tourism products. This closed on February 25 2022. The entry phase saw around 200 business owners entering their tourism products.

The awards then moved to the next phase which started on March 11 where the public could vote.  This phase concluded on March 18 and was followed by the physical inspection of the entered establishments by an independent panel of judges.

The awards that were open for public vote included Rickshaw Pullers, Tour Operators, Accommodation, Visitor Experiences, Tourist Guides, and Meetings, Exhibitions, and Special Events venues.

In total, the awards have 10 categories, including the Upcoming Film-Makers Award, Sustainable Development Award, Entrepreneurship Award, and the Special Achievement Award.

For more information, visit www.durbantourismawards.com or follow Durban Tourism across all social media platforms @DBNTourism.