Midmar Dam in the KZN Midlands was the backdrop for the 2022 KZN Tourism Month celebration. From left are Sthembiso Madlala TKZN Board Chairperson, Nhlakanipho Nkontwana EDTEA HOD and Chris Pappas, Mayor uMngeni Municipality. Picture: Supplied
As the country continues to celebrate Tourism Month, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) has revealed that tourism figures show that the province is making a resounding recovery.
This was announced at TKZN’s Tourism Month celebration at Midmar Resort in Howick.
According to TKZN, figures released by South African Tourism revealed that in the first six months of 2022, KZN received over 2,2 million domestic trips.
“This was just shy of the 2,6 million total number of trips for 2021 and indicates that the province is on track to beat last year’s number of visitors by a landslide,” said the department.
TKZN also said that when it comes to hotel occupancy, another indicator of recovery, KZN saw an upward trend, which is equal to that of 2019.
“In July, hotels on average were 68% full. That is four percent higher than July 2019 before Covid-19 hit SA,” said TKZN.
According to TKZN, this success is due to its tactical and strategic provincial tourism recovery plan, a concerted effort by the tourism sector and its marketing campaigns.
This year’s World Tourism Day theme, Rethink Tourism, was appropriate given the recent hardships the sector has endured, said the Head of the Department for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Nhlakanipho Nkontwana.
“The United Nations World Tourism Organization unpacks rethinking tourism as putting people and planet first, bringing everyone, from governments to businesses and local communities together, around a shared vision for a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient sector. This is the type of tourism that we want to see in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Nkontwana.
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