{"id":53768,"date":"2024-04-11T14:29:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T12:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zulu.org.za\/travel\/?p=53768"},"modified":"2024-04-11T14:33:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T12:33:58","slug":"kwazulu-natal-positioned-as-a-tourism-investment-destination-at-world-travel-market-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visitkzn-sa.com\/travel\/kwazulu-natal-positioned-as-a-tourism-investment-destination-at-world-travel-market-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"KWAZULU-NATAL POSITIONED AS A TOURISM INVESTMENT DESTINATION AT WORLD TRAVEL MARKET AFRICA"},"content":{"rendered":"A portfolio of catalytic tourism projects in KwaZulu-Natal valued at R9,4 billion were presented\r\nto investors, funding institutions and financiers attending the Tourism Investment Forum\r\nAfrica, as part of the World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa) taking place in Cape Town from\r\nyesterday 10 April.<br><br>WTM Africa 2024 is an exclusive B2B event that brings together 6000 travel industry\r\nprofessionals from across the world to focus on the opportunities and issues that will drive\r\ncommercial success for the African travel industry.<br><br>\r\nDetails of the projects, which are spread from Durban to Kosi Bay on the far north coast, to\r\nthe Midlands, Drakensberg and the South Coast and valued from as little as R3 to 10 million\r\nto R4 billion were outlined by Dr Thandeka Ellenson, Acting Head of Department, Economic\r\nDevelopment Tourism and Environmental Affairs.<br><br>\r\n\u201cThese projects along with many other private developments such as the Club Med resort to\r\nbe built at Tinley Manor on the KZN North Coast, positions KwaZulu-Natal as a tourism\r\ninvestment destination. \u201cTourism Development is a key part of our mandate as we continue to upgrade and expand\r\nKZN\u2019s tourism product offerings. New products, experiences and services are important in\r\ngrowing the province\u2019s tourism industry, because they enhance the destination\u2019s\r\ncompetitiveness, increase the length stay in KZN, the spend and economic impacts, as well\r\nas encouraging new and repeat visits,\u201d said,\u201d Mr Sibusiso Gumbi Acting Chief Executive\r\nTourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN).<br><br>\r\nGumbi pointed out that while the tourism landscape in South Africa has transformed\r\nimmensely there is still a lot more to be done in ensuring that communities benefit from\r\ntourism. Therefore, it is encouraging that many of these projects have been brought to TKZN\r\nby local communities and are intended to drive transformation in the tourism sector.<br><br>\r\nMr. Sihle Ngcamu Acting CEO: Trade &amp; Investment KZN said that the return to pre-Covid 19\r\ntourist numbers and the projected global growth of the tourism sector had caught the attention\r\nof seasoned and new investors who were looking at this sector as a means to generate\r\nsubstantial returns.<br><br>\r\n\u201cWith the provincial government and its entities responsible for tourism development actively\r\nsupporting the revival of tourism and implementing initiatives to facilitate investor-friendly\r\npolicies, I have no doubt that the tourism sector in KwaZulu-Natal is poised to experience a\r\nmore remarkable rebound.<br><br>\r\nI therefore believe it is for this reason that investor interest in the tourism sector remains\r\nstrong, despite the challenges and risks that persist, since they realize the continued\r\npotential and profitability of this sector,\u201d he said.<br><br>\r\nOf the projects, eight are private sector-led and are mainly brown and greenfield\r\ndevelopments. These include the new Woodstock Resort at the foot of the Drakensberg\r\nMountains catering for a hotel, floating restaurant among other things; Shakaland Culture and\r\nAdventure Resort; Durban Eye Ferris Wheel, Amatata Mountain Tourism and Cultural Centre\r\nat Inanda near Durban; Balele Game Park a theme park, recreation and accommodation at\r\nUtrecht Northern KZN; Uthukela Lifestyle Resort on the Banks of the Tugela River aimed at\r\nmedical tourism and the Beachwood Resort a 7-star contemporary resort in Durban North.<br><br>\r\nEzemvelo KZN Wildlife projects encompass two bush lodges, three boat houses, two boat\r\ncruises, and one information center\/museum, the Didima SAN Rock Art Centre, of which all\r\nare to be executed through 15-20 Year Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Concessions.<br><br>\r\nThese\r\nprojects represent just a few of the numerous green and brown commercialisation initiatives\r\nthat Ezemvelo plans to undertake in the near future.<br><br>\r\n\u201cCommercialisation forms a crucial aspect of Ezemvelo&#8217;s Corporate Strategy, aimed at\r\nenriching and expanding its ecotourism product and service offerings to meet the demands of\r\nits tourists. While commercialization is expected to enable Ezemvelo to concentrate on its\r\nmandates of biodiversity conservation and ecotourism promotion, the process also expected\r\nto reduce the organization&#8217;s reliance on fiscal support over time by providing diverse\r\necotourism business opportunities to potential private sector investors,\u201d said Mr Sihle Mkhize\r\nActing Chief Executive Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.<br><br>\r\nOn the KZN North Coast there are another four projects within the Isimagaliso Wetland Park\r\nwhich are looking for private sector investment partners to leverage of government properties\r\nin the park through development, operation and management of these assets.<br><br>\r\nThese are the Maphelane Resort at the foot of the wetland park\u2019s dune forest; an upmarket\r\nto mid-market lodge and camping resort Cape Vidal aimed at family getaways; at Kosi Bay in\r\nthe top northeast corner of KwaZulu-Natal the opportunity is to develop a 350-400 bed Lake\r\nLodge and Conference facility; and at Charter\u2019s Creek the opportunity is to operate the existing\r\nlodge and campsites, day and night game drives, boat cruises and guided walks<br><br>\r\nIt is estimated that these projects will create over 3000 temporary jobs during construction and\r\nover 3000 permanent jobs.<br><br>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A portfolio of catalytic tourism projects in KwaZulu-Natal valued at R9,4 billion were presented<br \/>\nto investors, funding institutions and financiers attending the Tourism Investment Forum<br \/>\nAfrica, as part of the World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa) taking place in Cape Town from<br \/>\nyesterday 10 April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1415],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>KZN Tourism Investment Destination | KZN Tourism &amp; 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