Record number of holiday makers expected to flock to KwaZulu-Natal

A record 2,1 million domestic and international tourists will head for KwaZulu-Natal for the festive season holidays.

A record 2,1 million domestic and international visitors will soon be packing their bags and heading for their festive season holidays in KwaZulu-Natal. And that's a conservative figure.

Last year's figure was just below two million. And this year, the holiday-makers - many armed with their year-end bonuses - are expected to boost the local economy by a massive R5-billion. The reason for the increase is partly due to the A1 Grand Prix being staged in Durban ("South Africa's playground") on January 29.

It will extend the big holiday seasons, boosting hotel bed nights, and keeping tills ringing."Traditionally, the holiday season ends around January 10. Now, there will be a gap, followed by the A1 Grand Prix, where the region should do very, very well," said John van Rooyen, director of operations for the Southern Sun hotels.

Bookings for December were "looking good", but there were still rooms available for the season. "You always find people who wait until the last moment and then see if accommodation is available," he said.

Another contributing factor to the extra numbers was the growth in the country's economy. Miller Matola, chief executive of Tourism KZN, explained that the figures were based on past surveys.

And, based on South Africa's departure surveys and current growth levels, about 100 000 overseas and African tourists who were expected to arrive by air, will visit KZN. The estimated spend of this market will be at least R0,5-billion and the total economic impact of the spend R0,7bn.

Also extending the holiday season will be the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon from January 19-21, when 2 000 paddlers and their supporters will arrive.

Apart from the sporting and beach attractions, the shopping centres are banking on another record season. On Monday night, a Pavilion Shopping Centre spokesperson said around 2,7 million shoppers were expected through their doors this month. "And that's a huge increase on last year," we were told.

(Source: The Daily News /6 December 2005)

Read the latest A1 Grand Prix news on the 2007 Durban A1 Grand Prix in South Africa 2007 and the A1 Grand Prix 2008 in Durban South Africa.