Winning back what we’ve lost by caring for what we have
As we awaken from our Covidenforced economic slumber and begin to rebuild our nation, many in the Eastern Cape, particularly in the tourism industry, will be looking to the droves of tourists who traditionally make their way to the coast during the December summer holiday season to help make up for lost revenue. To ensure these tourists make their way here, for a start, there needs to be no second spike in Covid infections. This means that, as a nation, we must guard against any lapses in safety protocols — social distancing, washing hands, wearing facemasks.
And then, we must offer a product tourists want to come and experience.
With national government still dithering on when it will open international borders, and the southern hemisphere summer holiday season traditionally starting in September already, SA stands to miss a part of its international tourist trade.
And smaller provinces such as the Eastern Cape will have to rely to an even greater extent than we usually do on domestic tourism.
For many years there has been an erosion in the quality of our province’s tourism offerings.
The number of Blue Flag beaches in the province declined again in 2019 when Hamburg lost its Blue Flag status, and the Eastern Cape now has just six such offerings compared to the heady days of 2015 when we had 14, albeit seven of which were pilot projects.
Declining beaches exist alongside decaying road infrastructure, bush and weeds that are allowed to grow unattended everywhere on municipal property, and general grime. There appears to be little will at municipal level to address these issues.
While Buffalo City Metro has embarked on a redevelopment of the beachfront promenade it is only expected to be complete in 2021 too late for the summer season.
However, we have many other “tourism assets museums, an aquarium, a zoo, many public parks and walkways all of which could do with some work before summer. Much of this work could be tackled by some of those left jobless in the wake of Covid’s impact on local businesses.
Of course the challenge is big, to win back what was lost in the coronavirus lockdown. But a total commitment of resources and effort by government and the private sector can restore tourism’s value for us all.
Much of this [cleaning up] could easily be tackled by some of those left jobless in the wake of Covid’s impact