Within three years, the influx of foreign visitors to Nelson Mandela Bay’s shores have shot up more than 36%, with big-ticket events and self-promotion key to maintaining the trend.
This is according to tourism experts, speaking on the future of tourism in the city.
A report compiled by the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) board indicated that foreign visits to the Bay had risen 36.7% between 2013 and 2016, with the city’s natural resources topping the list of attractions.
The report revealed nearly 62% of 263 543 foreign tourists in the Bay in 2016 visited the Addo Elephant National Park, with 76.3% of tourists adding a wildlife experience to their visits.
“The main reason that foreign tourists visit Port Elizabeth is for the wildlife and nature-based activities that are unique to the area, and especially unique to the Garden Route,” the report said.
“There was also a keen interest in arts and culture-based activities. Some historical attractions have been upgraded with great feedback from visitors and there are still quite a few of these where the visitor experience can be developed and improved on.”
It listed future development projects such as the Baakens Valley development and the proposed waterfront development among attractions that could boost tourism in the coming years.
In the meantime, mayoral committee member for economic development, tourism and agriculture Andrew Whitfield said the city’s existing tourist offerings should be maintained and leveraged to keep the industry growing.
“The crux of tourism is how we keep people in the city,” Whitfield said.
“[We have to work on] product development, both in terms of new products and revitalising our current products.”
Whitfield said citizens had a crucial role to play as well.
“We need to change our self-image as a city, because we are very self-critical of the city as a destination. We want Nelson Mandela Bay to be a first-choice destination.
“Our authenticity is one of our strengths. We have great people and a great city, but we need to believe in our potential and promote the city in our individual capacity.”
Whitfield also emphasised the importance of social and online media for the industry.“If we want to leap into the 21st century, we need to be an innovative destination embracing technological disruption, [including] social media, platforms like TripAdvisor and online booking systems,” he said.
“We have a huge opportunity on social media, because it allows us to review the experiences of visitors on a daily basis.”
The municipality was in the final stages of developing a memorandum of understanding with Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), which could increase the flow of tourists to the city, he said.
“Events are also a big driver [of tourism] – we need to host tourism-generating events, and we have a great challenge to reduce the seasonal gap [in winter], so we want something to bring people to the city every month.”
Tourism expert Peter Myles believes special events – both sporting events, such as the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in September, and cultural events – are a key marketing strategy for the city.
Though the report estimates that the championship could contribute nearly R300-million to the city’s economy, Myles said: “Usually the value of multimedia exposure far exceeds the value of local expenditure.
“As an example, an international sporting event hosted in Port Elizabeth can be viewed five or six times via repeat broadcasts on popular television programmes.”
The city has already grown in popularity among international tourists, with visitors from Singapore, Germany and Spain increasing significantly.
Visitor numbers from Singapore more than doubled from 987 visitors in 2015 to 2 335 in 2016.
“NMBT has been targeting Asian markets, specifically the Chinese market, due to its large travel market potential,” the report said.
“It is there where we also capture the Singapore operators’ attention.
“The big increase is also due to a decline in 2015 that is coupled with the Ebola scare and visa restrictions during that year.”
The foreign direct spend totalled nearly R877-million in 2016, while the domestic spend brought more than R3.6-billion into the metro.Of this, accommodation establishments earned just more than R1.36-billion. The income generated through accommodation last year totalled R1.4-billion.
The total bed nights sold also rose from around 3.24 million in 2016 to nearly 3.27 million last year, while the average stay climbed from 3.2 to 3.4 nights.
Whitfield said: “This indicates that our average length of stay is stable and has recovered [from a drop from 3.6 to 3.2 between 2015 and 2016].
“The Bay is proving to be a resilient and popular destination for tourists from around the world and across South Africa.
“We must do more to keep our visitors in our city for longer periods as this delivers sustained benefit to product owners and the city’s economy at large.”
What have proved to be the most popular attractions for tourists around the Bay?
Apart from the wildlife attractions and the beaches, a lot of tourists visit the Donkin Reserve’s Route 67.
Based on the NMB Pass activities in 2016, these were the most paid activities undertaken: Adrenalin Addo Zipline 38%, Heavenly Stables 2½-hour 30.8%, Bayworld – adult 22.4%, Sundays River Ferry Trip 21.7%, Holmeleigh Farmyard 17%, Thunzi Bush Lodge – free picnic – adult 17%, Kragga Kamma Game Park 16.3%, Bay West City Ice Rink 13.8%, sand boarding, Sundays River 13.2% and the Seaview Game-Predator Park 11.3%.