Significant tourism investments running into millions of rands over the past year have placed the Eastern Cape on track to unlock its untapped tourism potential, according to Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) tourism sector specialist Lucky Tshayiviti.

The most prominent investment, he said, was the Radisson Blu hotel in Port Elizabeth, but there were several other exciting projects.

“ECDC is also involved in a cable car project at Port St Johns which will cost an estimated R120-million. The cable car, modelled on the Table Mountain concept, will ferry tourists from the town to the mountain which has a beautiful view of the sea and the bio-diversity of the area.

“The municipality anticipates that this project will increase the volume of tourists in the area and create jobs.”

Tshayiviti said a feasibility study had been completed. The Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs was being lobbied for additional infrastructure finance.

ECDC has advised the municipality on potential investors for the project and the type of support it could expect to receive from the corporation, the government and the private sector. The municipality was now securing funding.

Tshayiviti said ECDC had developed a tourism sector investment plan for the Eastern Cape that would guide tourism investment in the province.

The plan, he said, examined national and regional trends in tourism while identifying international and African markets from which the province could secure tourism investments. ECDC had identified the Arab region, particularly the United Arab Emirates, as a high-priority area for attracting investment in the sector, followed by central Europe.

“Arab investors have bought land in strategic areas in the province for future development in the hospitality industry. They’ve chosen the Eastern Cape because it has the infrastructure, beautiful eco-systems and bio-diversity.”

The sector investment plan, Tshayiviti said, followed last year’s review of the provincial tourism master plan. This examined opportunities in the industry, dealing with threats, infrastructure development and how these could be translated into investment opportunities.

He said information on tourism investment, visitor numbers, a demand and supply analysis and tourism trends should be readily available.

Tourism, Tshayiviti said, was a big money spinner contributing about 8% to South Africa’s gross domestic product. He said the country’s tourism industry was growing. There was a need for “reliable information and statistics that will assist us in our planning”.

Port Elizabeth had emerged as the area with the best tourism potential because of its established infrastructure.

Source: The Herald