New Chinese deal to give KZN tourism massive boost
Province aims to tap into lucrative Far East market
THE KWAZULU-NATAL government intends to grow the province’s tourism contribution to between R65 billion and R98bn in the foreseeable future.
Nomusa Dube-ncube, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the leader of government business, said this week that their tourism plan called for the development of new tourism products and attractions that would appeal to international visitors.
“This would result in the generation of no less than 183 000 job opportunities for the people of our province,” Dube-ncube said.
The MEC was speaking after the provincial government signed an agreement between Tourism KZN and Chinese travel agency China Comfort Tourism Group.
This agency focuses on overseas tourism, inbound tourism, domestic tourism, cruise tourism and conferences.
The agreement will see the Chinese travel agency bringing thousands of tourists to the province, which is expected to grow its tourism industry to another level.
KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala said that was a major achievement.
“We are expecting scores of Chinese tourists to visit Kwazulu-natal. We are proud to have partnered with such a successful travel agency, which has more than 300 subsidiaries and an annual revenue of over R20bn,” Zikalala said.
The agreement is expected to grow the number of the world’s most populous nation’s outbound tourism, which stood at about 150 million coming into the province.
Chinese ambassador to South Africa Lin Songtian recently said tourists and investors from his country were concerned about the high crime rates and stringent visa regulations.
South Africa’s deputy director-general for Asia and the Middle East, in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, ambassador Anil Sooklal, said the government was addressing the issues.
The negotiations that set the ground for the agreement began during a KZN investment mission to China last year.
The provincial government said the various interventions to deal with crime that Zikalala announced during the State of the Province Address would help the economy as a whole.
The strategy was said to be anchored on communities ensuring they protected tourists and investors as they benefited the most from their presence in their communities. Some areas, such as Kosi Bay, were reliant on tourists as it was a tourism village.
Durban Direct co-chair Hamish Erskine said the development could see them accelerate their plans to actively attract a direct air link to the Far East, which had formed part of their longterm objectives.
“Looking at the travel market, we see the possibilities in a direct air service into either Singapore or Hong Kong, which would provide better air access to mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.”
Erskine said there should always be a sound business case for an airline to initiate a new route.
The prospect of an increase in passenger volumes and economic activity between KZN and China would help an airline which was considering introducing a direct flight connecting Durban and China.
Over the past year, Durban Direct has engaged with Far East airlines on the possibility of linking Durban and China. Engagements began at last year’s World Routes Conference in Guangzhou, China.