KwaZulu Natal is set to welcome 760 000 domestic visitors and 58 000 international tourists over the high season, netting total spend of R4.1 billion (€227m).

Speaking at a media roundtable in Johannesburg on Tuesday, December 7, Acting CEO of Tourism KZN, Nhlanhla Khumalo, said the projected tourist spend – based on information collected from tourism providers’ forward bookings – was at just under 50% of the R8.4bn (€444m) collected by the province in the 2019 high season.

The province and its tourism sector are recovering from the triple whammy of COVID, the June 2021 riots and devastating floods in April this year. Khumalo said the province’s recovery strategy had been based on providing tourism relief funds to affected businesses and aggressively marketing KZN in South Africa and abroad.

He stressed that only three beaches around Durban – the Umhlanga Main and Bronze beaches, and Reunion Beach – remained closed as a result of E.coli pollution caused by the floods.

“We need to put into context that KZN has over 600km of coastline, and the affected beaches were only across a 50km stretch of this. The vast majority of the beaches have recovered and the water quality has improved to acceptable levels,” said Khumalo.

Addressing concerns about security, Khumalo said extra precautions had been taken to ensure the safety of tourists visiting popular beaches and other attractions.

“We have worked closely with the South African Police Service to ensure that visible policing is ramped up in these highly-populated areas. With this being our first unaffected high season in two years, we look forward to treating visitors to a safe and enjoyable holiday.”

Infrastructure equipped for tourists

Flood damage to infrastructure in KZN amounted to an estimated R17bn (€945m) on the back of an estimated R2bn (€111m) in damage caused by last year’s riots.

Khumalo stressed that affected accommodation establishments, attractions and infrastructure had been repaired and were equipped for the influx.

“We have also worked with provincial entities such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to ensure that facilities in parks and attractions such as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the Drakensberg are up to scratch. We welcome tourists to enjoy the diversity of the province’s attractions, which extend far beyond the beaches of Durban,” said Khumalo.