KwaZulu-Natal to Provide 15,000 'Tourist Buddies'

The provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal is hoping to improve its tourism industry ahead of the World Cup by training thousands of locals and hospitality industry workers to be "tourist buddies" to visitors. These "buddies" are intended to help tourists as they travel in and around the province.

MEC for economic development and tourism Mike Mabuyakhulu said they were targeting 15000 people to be trained.

“For starters, we will train 1500 people. We will be taking people already in the employ of the hospitality industry but we will also train volunteers from the rural areas,” he said.

“Those receiving training are staff in hotels, food outlets, restaurants, garages, car guards and any industry dealing with people,” Mabuyakhulu said.

Plan to train 15000 tourist buddies for Fifa World Cup
Sowetan
April 13, 2010

Drunken Fans Face Arrests at KZN Fan Parks

Drunken fans will be arrested on sight at fan parks near the beaches of KwaZulu-Natal, according to police officials. They plan to have a zero-tolerance policy for drunken fans who pose a risk of drowning.

“There will be fan parks around the beaches, and on the North Beach (Durban), but I must insist that no drunk fan will be allowed to enter the beach,” [MEC for economic development and tourism Mike] Mabuyakhulu said.

“The police will be there and so will volunteers and marshals, because we all know how dangerous it is for a drunk person to go on to the beach.”

‘No drunks at the fan parks’
Sowetan
March 19, 2010

World Cup Tourism Slump Not A Problem for KwaZulu-Natal

A tourism slump among South Africans is being predicted during the World Cup, but officials in KwaZulu-Natal are confident that vacationers will still head out to the province during school holidays.

Patzer was commenting on Monday on a report by Grant Thornton, an audit and specialist advisory services firm, which predicted that domestic tourism was heading for a slump during the tournament.

Gillian Saunders, director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, pointed out that although the World Cup would damp South Africans' domestic travel plans and that many families were likely to stay at home during the school holidays, there was no reason for tourism providers to panic.

KZN likely to attract locals during World Cup
Independent Online
March 23, 2010

Durban and KwaZulu-Natal Hope to Cash in as Teams' Home Base

The city of Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal province have been selected as the home base of the second greatest amount of World Cup teams, providing what locals hope will be a boon to the area's economy.

Both tourism leaders - speaking at separate events more than a week apart in the city - made almost identical declarations about Durban's fortunate 2010 position. But they both also asked the industry and South Africans alike to seize the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity and promote the World Cup.

Durban 2010 scores big
The Mercury
March 3, 2010

Tourism Boom Slow to Materialize in KwaZulu-Natal

Early hotel reservation figures and flight bookings indicate that Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal province may see smaller crowds for the World Cup than expected. Local business people are hoping that the boom is still on its way.

Airfares and accommodation have reportedly been pushed up to unaffordable levels and this, combined with persistent crime fears and the effects of the recession in Europe and the US appear to be keeping international visitors away from South Africa - and Durban in particular.

Tourism KZN CEO Ndabo Khoza said this week there were concerns in the accommodation and tourism industries, but they were nonetheless confident of reaching their initial target of 25 000 foreign visitors over all 30 days of the tournament.

Tourists shun KZN over prices
Sunday Tribune
Feburay 14, 2010

Security Cameras to Keep Eye on KwaZulu-Natal During Cup

Officials in KwaZulu-Natal are planning to tightly control and monitor the city of Durban during the 2010 World Cup with closed-circuit television camera systems and other technologies to record and hopefully dissuade crime.

"We will be tapping into the closed-circuit television camera network in Durban and the national roads agency cameras on the major routes in the province. We will also have mobile remote-control cameras which can be placed anywhere. Operations centres will also be established in key areas. Our aim is not to give criminals the opportunity to commit crime," said Captain Percy Govender, who is responsible for security planning and co-ordination for the World Cup.

KZN police plan live surveillance for 2010
The Mercury
July 27, 2009

KwaZulu-Natal Hosts Public Viewing Areas

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has invested 20 million Rand (~$2.5 million) to set up four public viewing areas where locals can watch Confederations Cup games.

The province will host public viewing areas (PVAs) at four key districts in the province to give people a taste of the Confederations Cup excitement.

Entry to the PVAs is free.

Big screens for Cup action
The Sowetan
June 11, 2009

Tourist Project Gathering Steam in KwaZulu-Natal

A 20 billion Rand (~$4.25 billion US) theme development is being built in KwaZulu-Natal, but there are concerns about the future of the plan and the ambiguity of the agreement.

A spectacular model of the theme park, to be built on 16 500ha of land north of the Tugela River, was unveiled in Dubai in October.

However, Macambini residents have expressed concern that the development could force people to move off their ancestral land.

The issue was further muddied when another Dubai firm, Sports Cities International, said it had been given the right to develop the area.

Source:
Clarity sought on R20bn tourist project
Cape Argus
March 24, 2009