Durban — The eThekwini Municipality has revealed that over the past weekend, the city’s gross domestic product received a boost of over R5 million and a total direct spend of around R2.2 million with over 2 000 employment opportunities created.
The municipality said that as a result, local tourism was on the road to recovery as the past weekend’s sporting events saw full occupancy at the city’s hotels as well as bed and breakfast establishments.
A major event, the 2022 Isuzu Ironman 70.3 South Africa, had an attendance of approximately 100 000 spectators. This is one of Durban’s signature events that leaves a long-lasting legacy for both local and international athletes. and in terms of economic spin-offs.
The event was held on Sunday, starting from the beachfront to Suncoast Hotel. Over 2 000 athletes from all over the country and the world took part in it.
Another money spinning event was the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Beach Soccer Championship held from September 25 to October 1, at the Durban beachfront. Teams from eight African countries featured in the tournament and occupied Durban hotels for the duration of their stay.
The tournament was also televised live on international platforms, which contributed to marketing the brand Durban.
Tsogo Sun Hotels’ KwaZulu-Natal operations director Samantha Croft, said things were looking up for the sector which had suffered badly during the Covid pandemic.
“We had over 90% occupancy this weekend due to these two big events. This is a true indication that sporting events are critical for Durban,” Croft said.
EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said this was a very encouraging sign, especially after the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Indeed sporting events and all major events have proven to contribute positively in boosting local tourism. For example, the Springbok and Argentina rugby game held on September 24 at Kings Park Stadium pulled in big numbers with people coming from Gauteng, Western Cape, England and South America.
“ The week-long Durban Business and Fashion Fair held from 20 to September 25 at the Durban Exhibition Centre attracted 21 000 people from various provinces but mostly from Gauteng,” Kaunda said.
He said tourism was one of the key sectors earmarked to boost local economic growth because of its potential of creating jobs.
“In the past financial year (2021/2022), the tourism and hospitality sector contributed more than R3.3 billion into the economy of the city. This economic activity has enabled us to create and sustain 6 724 jobs, compared to 4 918 in the previous year,” Kaunda said.
He added that the municipality would continue supporting the sector through its aggressive marketing drive to take the Durban brand to all key source markets, new and old, as the festive season moved closer.
“This summer season, we are anticipating over 900 000 visitors to flock to eThekwini and according to projections, the injection into the city’s economy will be more than R1.2 billion,” Kaunda said.
Meanwhile, the municipality said that teams participating in the 2022 Blind Cricket South Africa T20 National Tournament had started arriving in Durban. The tournament started on Sunday, October 2, and runs until October 6.
The municipality urged Durbanites to watch the top-class cricket tournament. All morning games start at 9am and midday games at 1pm.
It added that eThekwini was intensifying its efforts to provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities, including in sport.
Daily News