Club Med lands in SA at last
● Club Med will be opening its first beach resort in this country, and it will be along KwaZulu-Natal’s famed north coast.
Long known for its sexy image revolving around sun and sea, Club Med over the past few decades has transformed itself into a more upmarket family destination.
But while there are resorts in three other African countries, there has never been one in SA. There are five other hotels in Africa north of the equator — three in Morocco, one in Senegal and one in Tunisia.
The company would not confirm details about the resort, but several other reports have said it will have 350 rooms and 50 villas, that construction will be completed by 2022 and it will occupy 30ha of land. The group said a global press release would be scheduled in the coming weeks.
Tourism Update reported in May this year that landowner Tongaat Hulett Developments had signed a memorandum of agreement with Club Med to develop the resort. The R1bn resort will be in Tinley Town, 10km from King Shaka International Airport. The location is considered prime property on the eastern seaboard.
Tongaat Hulett said the sale of land near Tinley Manor was on track and it “continues to engage withL the various parties involved in this transaction in accordance with the memorandum of understanding. We are looking forward to finalising the transaction and public announcements will follow the conclusion of these engagements.”
Club Med has been eyeing the north coast for more than a decade. The resort group was founded by a Belgian diamond cutter (who was a water-polo player) in 1950 as a getaway health club. But the all-inclusive offering in later years was a hit and it grew rapidly for three decades from the 1960s.
By 1996, the company had more than 100 resorts, but it faced more competition in later years. Its robust image faltered in the 1990s, and it had big losses “with a fragile recovery snuffed out by the 9/11 attacks”, said The Guardian.
From 2005, Club Med transformed into an upmarket tour operator. It closed almost half its resorts and spent R15.65bn upgrading the 80 it kept. China’s Fosun Group now owns the group.
Last year, Club Med had its highest growth in business volume for six years. All its geographical areas saw growth, and customer numbers were up by more than 6%.
We are looking forward to finalising the transaction Tongaat Hulett
Statement