With the opening of the season starting with a bang of fireworks on Sunday in Nelson Mandela Bay, several accommodation establishments are experiencing a decline in bookings leading up to Christmas.
Some of the establishments have attributed fewer bookings to people taking shorter holidays due to the struggling economy and to Airbnb – an online marketplace which lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms privately.
The occupancy rate is expected to pick up closer to the New Year celebrations.
On Sunday evening, thousands of residents and visitors gathered at the Hobie Beach Pier for the SPAR Summer Nathi opening of the season.
Heavy mist threatened to dampen the fireworks display, but fortunately this lifted just before the 8pm kickoff.
The stage where DJ sensation Prince Kaybee performed was flanked by two big screens for those at the back or watching from across the street.
Local DJ Superman entertained revellers with the now popular #IdibalaChallenge on stage, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Nelson Mandela Bay tourism CEO Glenton de Kock said despite early indications showing fewer visitors, this might not be a direct reflection on the city or its attractions.
He said macro-economic factors such as unemployment, inflation and savings had consumers vigilantly watching their spending patterns.
“This is against the backdrop of a slight adjustment in the repo rate and the fluctuation in the petrol price,” he said.
“South Africans in particular have been under pressure to manage their disposable income.
“The season will be slightly shorter as well due to the change in the school calendar.”
He said the entity would be monitoring to see if a new trend develops for visitors, while also highlighting that more and more tourists opted for less traditional accommodation options such as Airbnb.
Protea Hotel reservation agent Claudene Maarman said they were fully booked on December 31 but that up to then there were plenty of rooms available.
“It’s slowed down this year compared with last year and from Friday onwards we’ve got enough rooms available,” Maarman said.
Paxton Hotel duty manager Veliswa Mtati said from December 16 to December 30 the establishment’s occupancy was sitting between 50 and 75%, which is a drop from 2017.
“Last year, we were much busier compared to this year.”
Beachwalk Bed and Breakfast guesthouse owner Clifford Hanks said: “Occupancy is very much down from last year.
“We are sitting at about 66% compared with last year, which was about 92%.”
Hanks, who is also the Beachfront Business and Community Safety Forum chair, said after the season he would know for definite but he predicted a 20% drop.
“I have spoken to several guesthouses who say the same thing. We have all seen a massive drop in occupancy.
“There is one guesthouse I know that has shut down for the festive season as there are just no bookings.”
Hanks said the drop was largely due to Airbnb moving into the market.
“They are prostituting the industry. These are owners who rent out rooms or houses and do not declare any of their takings.
“Everything goes into their pockets. They do not hire staff, do not declare income and also do not register as a business so they pay normal residential rates,” he said.
Other reasons were probably that people were short on cash and a lack of marketing by the municipality.
“Go walk along the beachfront and you will see that some of the walkways are falling apart and fences are falling down.
“There is just a general lack of maintenance,” he said.
“Add this to the lack of Christmas festivities and events and it is no surprise that no one is coming.”
Millard Crescent Guest House owner Johann van Heerden said that they were also down compared with 2017’s occupancy rate.
“We had about 80% occupancy last year and this year we are on about 75%.
“Hopefully it will pick up as the month goes on,” he said.
Asked about the likely reason, Heerden blamed it on Airbnb but said this was not the only factor.
“Another is that people are just not coming to Port Elizabeth for extended periods of time.
“A few years ago you had people booking in for eight days and now they are coming for about three.”
Lalapanzi Guest Lodge owner William Duckitt said that they had about a 95% occupancy rate.
“We are basically the same, if not doing better, than last year.
“I would say we have about a 95% occupancy rate with the odd room opening here and there,” he said.
“People are still phoning daily for bookings and I have to turn them away.”
Port Elizabeth Backpackers owner Dianne Lang said their occupancy rate was dramatically down.
“I would say it is about 20% down from last year.”
Asked why she thought the occupancy rate was down, Lang said: “People simply do not have money.”
Port Elizabeth Metro Bed and Breakfast Association chair Shena Wilmot confirmed there were a number of establishments that still had plenty of accommodation available.
This, she said, differed compared with previous years, and in 2017 establishments had been fully booked throughout the festive season – some all the way into the middle of January.
“There aren’t as many people as before visiting the city. This could be because people are just choosing what to spend their money on because of the tough economic times.
“Previously people booked accommodation for up to 10 days at a time, while now it’s just for three days.
“People are definitely battling financially,” Wilmot said.
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality economic development, agriculture and tourism executive director Anele Qaba said it was premature to say whether the number of visitors coming to the city had declined.
“If it is in fact the case we’d have to sit down and dig up what the reasons are for this.
“At this stage, there’s no report to say this.”
He said tourist statistics would not be given out until after the festive season.
The lack of business during the festive season has also appeared to have hit the metered taxi industry.
A King Cab driver, Wayne Swanepoel, said from December 1 to December 15 2017 he had made R11,000.
Comparing this figure to 2018, Swanepoel said: “I’ve barely made R2,000 in that same time.”
After December 16 to the end of the year, Swanepoel said he had made R12,000.
“When I look at how things are going right now, it seems like a pipe dream to reach that amount,” he said.