Tourism

New flights and upgraded airports are boosting tourism.

Turkish Airlines returned to King Shaka International Airport in 2022. Two of the airline’s Istanbul-Johannesburg flights now extend to Durban on Thursdays and Saturdays and it has plans to increase these to four weekly flights.

A new direct flight from Durban to Harare in Zimbabwe was launched by Airlink in April 2022. Durban Direct, the KZN Route Development Committee, arranged a water-canon salute as the first plane touched down with a full load of passengers. These new flights are in addition to Emirates flying five flights a week from Durban directly to Dubai and the four-weekly direct flights that Qatar Airways offers.

The project to improve regional airports is continuing. Upgrades at Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle and Richards Bay have been authorised and terminals at Margate and Mkuze, where R72-million was spent, have been completed. Located in the far north of the province, Mkuze holds great potential for the distribution of agricultural produce into the SADC market and for tourism, given its proximity to several private reserves and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

The KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau reports that 26 major conferences, exhibitions and meetings were held in the province in 2021/22, resulting in a direct local economic impact of about R220-billion. Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 attracted 3 700 delegates.

Radisson Blu Hotel, Durban Umhlanga, shortly after celebrating its one-year anniversary in July 2023, received two awards from Durban Tourism, the Visitor Experience and Restaurants Award as well as the Meetings, Exhibitions and Special Events (MESE) Award.

The Docklands Hotel at the Durban Waterfront is a four-star Signature development that cost about R100-million to develop.

Hotels are located at each of Tsogo Sun’s three casinos in the province, with two at Suncoast Casino Hotels & Entertainment. Southern Sun runs 13 establishments in KwaZulu-Natal, with Durban (five) and Umhlanga (four), making up the majority.

Premier Hotels & Resorts has nine properties in the province, including two recently built in Umhlanga on land bought during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group has also restored the Cutty

Online Resources

Durban International Convention Centre: www.icc.co.za

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife: www.kznwildlife.com

Tourism KwaZulu-Natal: www.zulu.org.za

Sector Insight

The MESE sector generated R20-billion in 2021/22.

Sark in Scottburgh. The Royal Hotel in the heart of Durban is one of eight Three Cities Group hotels in the province. The Golden Horse Casino Hotel is a Three Cities property, and the Group administers the International Hotel School in Westville that also hosts the Christine Martin School of Food and Wine.

IFA Hotels & Resorts runs several luxury properties including the Zimbali Coastal Resort and Zimbali Lakes Resort.

Signature Life Hotels has 13 properties and Gooderson Leisure has a varied portfolio. Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom is north of Durban and there are casinos in Newcastle (Century City), Empangeni (Tusk Umfolozi Casino) and Pietermaritzburg (Golden Horse Casino). ■