Bay Mayor declares the city open for business at cruise liner season opening ceremony – NMBM

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor Retief
Odendaal declared the city open for business with a renewed focus on
establishing a sustainable developmental agenda, at the official opening of the
cruise liner season this morning.

“Our presence in one of our main ports of entry is
significant as we not only open our arms to welcome visitors, we manifest our
belief that these important facilities should enjoy a special strategic focus
in order to reignite our local economy. 

“I am fully aware that the COVID-19 pandemic had a
devastating impact on the cruise liner industry. Prior to 2019, we saw the
steady increase of cruise liners coming our way. This was abruptly stopped when
the tourism industry was brought to its knees due to the coronavirus outbreak,”
Mayor Odendaal said.

The arrival of the first cruise liner vessel, the Hanseatic
Spirit this morning at the Port of Gqeberha (PoPE) has marked the
official opening of the port’s cruise liner season for 2022/23. The PoPE in
partnership with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) marked the occasion
by hosting an Opening Ceremony to celebrate the first vessel and potential
bumper season ahead.

“Our hope for the new season is that we will see many
more cruise liners visit our shores and that our tourists enjoy many more
peaceful and enjoyable days with us. Hopefully, we will be able to improve on
our pre-covid numbers,” Mayor Odendaal added.

This season a total of 33 vessels are expected to spend 43
docking days in the Port of Gqeberha compared to the 15 docking days in
the last cruise liner season.

“We derive great pleasure in executing our role as an
enabler for tourism in our city. The increase in cruise liners and passengers
visiting our city’s shores is driven by our port’s exceptional maritime
infrastructure and the city’s outstanding tourist attractions. This strong
outlook for the 2022/23 season will help accelerate the tourism sector’s
recovery from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a tremendous
impact on our economy.” said Pamela Yoyo, Port Manager: Nelson Mandela Bay
Ports. 

The partnership with the Transnet National Ports Authority
and other industry role-players is yielding the desired results as evidenced by
the 33 cruise ship dockings scheduled for this season. The increasing
popularity of the city as a destination of choice is resulting in an increase
in the number of world’s biggest cruise liners consistently including the PoPE
as a port of call in their cruise itineraries.

The Captain of the Hanseatic Spirit, Jens Troier, thanked
the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and the Transnet National Ports Authority
for the warm welcome.

He said they woke passengers up as early as 07:45 to
experience the sounds and dance moves of the Qhama Africa dancers and marimba
players as well as the spectacular spraying of the jets from tugboats as the
ship entered the Port of Gqeberha.

“We docked at many harbours over the world, but this
welcome is extremely special to us. Thank you on behalf of the crew and the
passengers,” Troier added.

Plans are afoot to couple dockings with a few events to add
to a more enjoyable experience for tourists.

#13;

Issued on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality by
Media Management Officer Kupido Baron (082 780 2726 / 041 506 1500 / kbaron@mandelametro.gov.za /
@kupidobaron).