Pioneering tourism investment in the Eastern Cape
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Investment in tourism in the Eastern Cape
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So rich is the Eastern Cape in fact that one of the biggest challenges facing marketers of the province is packaging it. Should it be sold as the home of the original Big 5, where the elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard can be viewed without the fear of malaria? Wide open spaces of the Karoo, the untamed beauty of the Wild Coast or the solitude of the Baviaanskloof World Heritage site? A fishing paradise with more trout streams than anywhere else in the country, with bass aplenty, big game fishing in the deep sea, rock and surf angling? The country’s first choice for hunters … the list goes on.
Or is it an adventure destination with mountains to climb, trails to hike, paths to ride, rapids to shoot, South Africa’s only ski resort (Tiffendell at Rhodes), 4x4 trails, the ‘perfect wave’ at J-Bay, etc. Perhaps it is the history – more battlefields than the rest of the country, and over 300 years of struggle that led to the first free elections?
Then again, it could be the medley of cultures. The Eastern Cape is the only place where the Khokhoi, the Dutch, the Xhosa, the English and Germans lived side by side. That’s not forgetting the rich fossil records, and archaeological sites where some of the earliest remains of modern man can be found. Or simply relaxing on the endless white beaches lapped by the warm Indian Ocean. In short, the Eastern Cape has it all when it comes to tourist attractions.
Tourism is the face of things to come
What it also has is more than its fair share of opportunities. With the exception of the high-end game reserve sector, the province’s tourism industry is largely undeveloped. The most recently available statistics put the 1999 gross geographic value of the tourism sector at R58-billion. This has undoubtedly increased substantially in order to cater for growing numbers of local and foreign tourists. Relatively new to the province are business tourists, attracted by the opportunities offered through the Coega and East London Industrial Development Zones, the globally competitive automotive industry and agriculture.
What is good about the new investments is that they are mainly long-term. The Eastern Cape branch of the Free Trade Tourism in South Africa is encouraging responsible tourism in the province – which includes supporting local economic development. ‘Most tourism businesses in South Africa are realising that being sustainable has become a business imperative,’ says Hugh Bartis, chairperson of the Eastern Cape chapter of the South African Tourism Services Association. ‘That has now filtered through to tourism businesses in the Eastern Cape as well.’
Natural heritage and game reserves
Sustainability of the natural heritage of the province is being assured through the growing number of private reserves, in addition to the expansion of provincial and national parks. Their focus is on returning the land to its natural state as far as possible in order to provide a full African experience to visitors and guests.
At the same time, they are creating jobs. The value of the eco-tourism sector was first detailed in a 2004 report on the socio-economic significance of private game reserves in the Eastern Cape undertaken by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) for the Wilderness Foundation. The research, which was largely based on seven private game reserves (PGRs) in the province, showed that these jointly contributed R87-million a year to the region’s economy.
Game, scenery and landscape and accommodation and high quality services were the main attractions for tourists, mainly from foreign markets and upper income groups. By 2009 all of the PGRs will have enlarged their properties, added beds and improved standards. But, it is not only the private sector that is upping the stakes.
Under the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) is being expanded to stretch 250 kilometres from the Indian Ocean through the Zuurberg Mountain range to the Karoo. Once the consolidation has been completed, it will be the third-largest park in South Africa, with the highest bio-diversity – six of South Africa’s seven biomes plus the ocean and islands. Opportunities have been opened up for the private sector through the creation of concessions for luxury lodges.
Farming tourists and game is providing a better return than traditional crops and stock. According to the NMMU research, the seven PGRs increased on-site employment by 3.5 times compared to the farming operations the game replaced. More importantly, the average wage bill increased by 20 times and average wages by 5.7%. Downstream businesses opportunities have been created in crafts, hotels and car rentals.
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Investment in tourism in the Eastern Cape
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Festivals, routes and integrating economies
With so much to celebrate, it is no wonder there is a festival virtually every weekend of the year in the province. The Absa Kirkwood Wildlife Festival held every June in the Sundays River Valley attracted 35 000 people over three days in 2007, while the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown brings over R40-million to the region. Then there’s the Splash Festival in Nelson Mandela Bay, the Shell Festival in Jeffreys Bay, the Rose Festival in Addo and the Biltong Festival in Somerset East – and that’s just to start.
It is, however, not all sunshine and roses for the tourism industry. It is grappling with empowerment and with identity. Bartis says there are still challenges for integrating the first and second economy even though there are fewer sceptics than two years ago as blacks start making their mark in the industry – as tour operators, bed and breakfast operators, restaurateurs, and guides.
Who better to take you through the African bush than someone who grew up there, or to guide you along the historic Nelson Mandela route? The adventure starts in King Williams Town, which from 1826 was a stage for British, Boer and Xhosa conflicts. The grave of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko is in the town. Next stop is the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha, followed by a short trip to Madiba’s home village of Qunu with its community museum and youth and heritage centre. The route ends in East London, which has a museum housing a superb collection of Southern Nguni beadwork.
Mthatha is the gateway to the Wild Coast in the former Transkei. This the and former Ciskei regions of the province are largely undeveloped due to a combination of factors that are being addressed by national and provincial government and business. The building of a planned toll road from Mthatha to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast will open up the Wild Coast for tourism development – then the challenge will be retaining the natural beauty while creating much-needed jobs. The toll road is one of a number of infrastructure developments heading up to 2010 and beyond from which the tourism industry will benefit.
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Investment in tourism in the Eastern Cape
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Pioneering investment and tourism development
Private sector investors and operators are not waiting. Most of the major hotel groups have interests in the Eastern Cape, and are adding rooms, building new establishments or refurbishing existing buildings. They are supported by the local government. “From a provincial government perspective, there is considerable emphasis being placed on tourism as a lead economic sector,’ says Bartis.
Investors include the private reserves and the Tiffindell Ski Resort, which added a five-star hotel and modern entertainment facilities such as an ice rink and a snow-making machine at a cost of R500-million. Casino developments in Queenstown and Mthatha include plans to expand tourism to the towns and local districts. Top quality golf courses attached to resort and residential developments are also being opened throughout the province – mainly along the coastline, with one exception being in the foothills of Boschberg Mountain overlooking the Karoo town of Somerset East.
Port Elizabeth’s first international five-start hotel on the beachfront is one of a number of new hotels being built in the city. The Radisson SAS Hotel in Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay) will also offer conferencing and banqueting facilities. And in East London, the owners of the Regent Hotel are building a conference centre, due open in October 2009.
These are the pioneer investors in the Eastern Cape’s tourism industry, with its almost limitless potential. It’s an industry which, nurtured properly, can only grow.
