Malls buzzing, but holiday letting left high and dry

IT HAS been a bumper festive week with one of KwaZulu-Natal’s malls seeing more than two million people pass through its doors.

The Gateway Theatre of Shopping recorded a massive influx of shoppers, with the figure standing at over 1 million by December 1, and estimates putting the total figure at 3.5 million by Boxing Day yesterday.

The mall also smashed its previous record for the number of cars using its parking facilities – over 700 000 in the same period.

Marketing manager Michelle Shelley said, “There has been a great vibe at Gateway – the atmosphere is always amazing at this time of the year. The retail stores are busy and I think we have seen a lot more visitors this year compared to last.”

Shelley said shoppers had splashed out on Star Wars merchandise, perfumes, body products, fashion items and techno-gadgets, which were fast sellers this year.

Durban’s beaches were also buzzing this week and there were no reports of drownings or neardrownings.

But even though it’s been a busy week in the province, several angry tourists have opted to pack up and leave the eMdloti area due to “unbearable” water restrictions.

Some have opted to cut their holidays short and return to their homes outside the province, while others have decided to look for accommodation elsewhere.

According to holiday establishments in eMdloti, they have taken a hard knock because many holidaymakers were demanding refunds.

“The water cut-offs for long periods of time have been a nightmare for tourists. Many came from out of the province and travelled here with little children. Holidaymakers are asking for their money back because they can’t deal with the restrictions and have decided to leave.

“December is our busiest period and we’re incurring a huge financial loss because of the restrictions,” said Yvette Burford, the chairwoman of eMdloti holiday establishment Club Mykonos.

The general manager of another establishment in the area said some tourists were opting to move to Umhlanga. “The water sometimes cuts off for more than seven hours a day. This is ridiculous and would obviously upset any tourist and make them want to leave.”

But Phillip Sithole of Durban Tourism said he was unaware of people who were leaving the province. “The issue of drought is a national crisis and tourists were aware of this before entering the province.

“The situation is beyond our control. We have been informing tourists of this and I am sure the holiday establishments have been communicating the restrictions to holidaymakers as well,” he said.