Hotel Group Backs New Push To Revive Bay Tourism

Gqeberha’s tourism recovery is set for a boost after a leading hotel group announced a partnership with the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber to help turn the Metro’s tourism potential into stronger economic activity, investment and job creation.

City Lodge Hotels, which has five hotels in the City, has come on board as an opportunity partner to the Chamber’s newly established Tourism Economic Development Desk. The hotels are the Courtyard, Road Lodge, City Lodge and Town Lodge. All these are on the beachfront. The fifth one is the Road Lodge next the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.

The partnership comes at a time when Nelson Mandela Bay is rebuilding its tourism economy after the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Visitor numbers and overnight stays have, according to the Chamber, yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the need for a more coordinated approach to tourism development.

The Tourism Economic Development Desk, which is scheduled to be officially launched next month, will focus on seven strategic interventions, ranging from visitor safety and tourism marketing to improving accessibility, attracting major events, supporting tourism businesses, developing skills and advocating for policy reforms.

For the Chamber, the challenge is not only getting more people to the Bay, but encouraging them to stay longer and experience more of what the Metro and surrounding region have to offer. Chief Growth Officer Lunga Mjodo said their focus was on developing a compelling destination proposition that gives people reasons to live, work, visit and stay in the Bay.

“Tourism in the Bay is coming off a lower base, and the reality is that visitor numbers have not fully recovered since Covid-19,” Mjodo says.

He argues that longer stays could have a wider economic impact, as tourists who remain in the area for several nights, have more opportunities to use accommodation, restaurants, transport, retail, entertainment and tour operators.

The Chamber believes Nelson Mandela Bay already has many of the ingredients needed for a stronger tourism economy. These include its coastline, five Blue Flag beaches, wildlife, heritage, cultural offerings and outdoor experiences, as well as its position as a gateway to other attractions in the Eastern Cape and Garden Route.

For City Lodge Hotels, the initiative also extends beyond hotel occupancy. The group’s Chief Operating Officer Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo said the company viewed collaboration between public and private-sector stakeholders as important to strengthening destinations. “We are pleased to support the Chamber's Tourism Economic Development Desk, because a destination is stronger when private and public sector entities work together,” Sangweni-Siddo said.