eThekwini Festive Season Tourism Numbers Plummet by 22%

17 January 2023 

ActionSA notes the sharp decline in tourist numbers in eThekwini during the festive season with deep concern. This does not only have major negative impact on the city, but also to small and big businesses as they would’ve undoubtedly felt the pinch.

According to statistics released by the city, it is stated that the city accommodated 702 735 tourists during this past festive season, which is a decline of more than 200 000 tourists when compared to the year 2019 (Pre-COVID), where during the same period, the city accommodated an estimated 900 000 tourists. This decline equates to an alarming 22% plummet.

Rather than the economy seeing a boom during the festive period and there being job security, jobs have unfortunately been lost or limited, thus negatively impacting households and informal traders reliant on this income.

Furthermore, many small businesses rely on holiday makers during the festive season to ensure that their businesses are sustainable for the quieter periods of the year. This will ultimately have a knock-on effect on their profitability and sustainability.

While we note that the Municipality received far less than what they had expected, in financial terms, we hope that this will not have a negative impact on service delivery for the residents of eThekwini, the fixing of and rebuilding infrastructure. The Municipality will have to reprioritize its budget accordingly, as the current worsening state of the city cannot handle more setbacks at the expense of the residents. This is where the City’s leadership will have to show true control and leadership skills.

While the odds were stacked against the City, as it saw a number of beach closures due to raw sewerage contaminating river bodies and oceans, resulting in tourists staying away from the city, one can only hope that the Mayor of eThekwini receives this ‘wake-up’ call, and completes all repairs on dilapidated sewerage infrastructure, before the current state of the city causes further damage to the city’s economy.

It is without question that eThekwini is a huge contributor to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal, and with our financial engine hamstrung, ActionSA believes that this will have further negative impact on the economy of the province.

It is crucial that city leaders shy away from putting blame of the state of the City on the April 2022 floods and acknowledge that the municipality has had ample time since the floods to address all the issues. Rather than blaming external factors, the real cause is the incompetence and suspected corruption of the ANC-controlled municipality.

ActionSA’s legal case against the municipality and government departments is expected to be heard on 27 February 2023.

Issued by Alan Beesley, eThekwini Caucus Member, ActionSA, 17 January 2023