The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Deputy Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe has called for all stakeholders to collaborate in bringing safety and peace as a catalyst to grow tourism the tourism industry.
The Deputy Executive Mayor was speaking at an event held at Sunrise Hotel in Bluewater Bay to celebrate Tourism Month.
This year’s Tourism Month theme is “Tourism and Peace-30 years of connecting people and cultures”.
The Metro’s focus area for this year is tourism safety and diversification of tourism products to bring about memorable experiences for tourists.
“As a Metro we have come a long way, celebrating 30 years of democracy. We have a past where there was no peace and safety was only for a few. Some people were not allowed to travel freely and be tourists in their own country. In recognising our past and embracing our future, we need to work collaboratively to create a conducive environment for the world to come to our City and celebrate with us,” said Deputy Mayor Lobishe.
Deputy Executive Mayor Lobishe said the Metro has mobilised critical stakeholders in the areas of, business, safety and security like SAPS and private security, tourism industry like Eastern Cape Tourism Board, relevant government entities and local based tourism practitioners to deliver a memorable Tourism Month.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality prides itself as the best in delivering cultural experiences, an element that sets the Metro apart from its competitors. Another positive addition to the Metro tourism offerings, is the booming Cruise industry. Last year the Metro received 36 cruise vessels with 45800 combined number of passengers. The estimated economic impact was R77 million. This year the Metro expects a slight increase of 40 cruise vessels.
“We are building on this good foundation and hope to grow these numbers. We also want to improve on the number of days these cruise vessels spend in our Metro so that more jobs can be created. It then becomes important that we improve on our offerings,” said Deputy Executive Mayor Lobishe.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, Councillor Shuling Lindoor said as part of the Metro efforts improve on tourism safety, the Directorate has hired more tourism ambassadors to work with the security cluster.
“Our primary focus is safety, we have put resources to complement the Tourism Month Safety Plan that is already in place, led by SAPS and Metro Police. For tourists to have a memorable experience, safety is paramount,” said MMC Lindoor.
Metro Police Commissioner Andrew Moses confirmed that a plan was in place to support Tourism Month activities and programmes. He said the tourists coming to the Metro during this tourism month and beyond were safe.
As part of this years Tourism Month the Metro will on 26-27 September 2024 host a National Cruise liner workshop to build relations and engage tourism operators on some of the Metro unique tourism offerings.
Focus will also be given to Green Tourism. Tourism Sub-directorate and Public Health will on 28 September 2024 collaborate to host the Green Flag Trials, an offering that seeks to promote sustainable tourism at the Van Stadens Reserve.
Nelson Mandela Bay tourism offering would not be complete without good traditional food and heritage. Kasi Food Festival will give tourists that special experience that will also offer a good platform for township tourism to benefit. This event will be held in Zwide Township on 28-29 September 2024.
The month will be closed on a high note at the Mendi Arts Centre through an interactive of the story of New Brighton.
In between these major events and programmes the Metro will be partnering with different entities to delivery an exciting Tourism Month. Part of these events include Tourism Awards, Premier Soccer League games and cultural events.
NMB Communications
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