Tourism continues to boom on the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) North Coast with ongoing developments on the cards, says Dayalan Chetty, Executive for Tourism at Tongaat Hulett Developments.
This includes a major beach resort at Tinley Manor and several hotels for Umhlanga.
“Tourism is a key sector to be developed to propel South Africa as one of the Top 20 tourist destinations in the world by 2020. To meet this objective, KZN has positioned itself to be Africa’s leading tourism destination both nationally and internationally,” he says. “However, despite the marked demand for a world-class resort, KZN has not been able to provide a resort that will cater for the needs of both international and domestic tourists.”
A need for resort and beach hotel developments were identified in KwaZulu-Natal’s Tourism Master Plan. Tourism KZN CEO, Ndabo Khoza, says beach resorts accommodating 300 people are a minimum requirement from an airlift and charter point of view.
“Although there is a good variety of accommodation in and around Durban, we do not yet have an international hotel and resort operator to appeal to the mass-market traveller or to the volume focused tour operator,” he says. This is backed by research among international tour operators, who confirm that an absence of critical mass, internationally brand-recognised beachfront hotels spanning the three- to five-star markets, is a hindrance to the province.
Chetty says the unique coastal location of the Tinley Manor South Bank land asset therefore lended itself to opportunity.
“The development sits on the coastal corridor of KwaDukuza Municipality, which has been identified as the primary tourism corridor and a key economic hub within the iLembe District,” explains Chetty.
“There is no truly integrated beach resort at scale in KZN that would compare to a Club Med for example. This development offers this opportunity,” he says. “Durban at present lags Cape Town and Gauteng because there is little to no unique tourist destinations that can attract both domestic and international tourists as a “must do” destination.”
He says the Tinley Manor development will significantly up the ante for Durban.
“We are currently busy with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and working with stakeholders.”
According to Chetty, this integrated beach resort hotel concept enjoys support from government through the office of the MEC of economic development. He says there are also ongoing developments in Umhlanga that bode well for tourism along the North Coast.
“We are currently involved in several developments in Umhlanga at Ridgeside, the town centre, Cornubia and Sibaya.”
The Ridgeside development is considered a prime precinct on Umhlanga Ridge that comprises some 140 hectares of land. Developed in a way to maximize the views alongside the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, it is a four-phased development that will link the Umhlanga Ridge to the Umhlanga Rocks village.
The Sibaya site offers uniterrupted 180 degree seaviews and is considered a premium position for a hotel development. Cornubia is a strategic landholding that has been declared a national priority.
“We have as yet not seen the detailed plans, but looking at the investment currently taking place along the Ridge, the hotel investments on the cards will no doubt run into hundreds of millions of rands,” says Chetty.
While reluctant to provide details on the developments, Chetty confirmed that Tongaat Hulett as land owners were in discussion with different international hotel groups to develop several four-star hotels in the area. High levels of interest have been shown, he says.
According to research, Umhlanga is in need of at least 600 hotel rooms at present while it could support at least a few hundred more over and above the hotels currently in the pipeline.
“We are at present in discussion with four hotel groups for developments in Umhlanga,” he says.
Tourism has grown significantly in Umhlanga over the past ten years, with hotels increasing from only a handful to more than 12 at present.
