Last year was a whirlwind of ups and downs for the tourism industry, but how did our tourism industry do over this past festive season and how did it compare to 2020 and even the 2019 seasons?
According to Frieda Lloyd, Whale Coast Tourism Manager, 2021 continued the roller coaster ride for travel and tourism.
“We held our breath as we approached the peak holiday season with travel bans and uncertainty about lockdown regulations. Today, we are giving a sigh of relief. It was no easy ride but the collective effort of the Overstrand’s hospitality industry helped to make this season a great one. The entrepreneurs who started new businesses, expanded on existing premises, and added to their offering should be applauded for their confidence and creativity,” says Lloyd.
Fortunately travel restrictions eased up towards middle December when, with much lobbying, South Africa was removed from our biggest source market, the UK’s, red list on 15 December. “The lifting of the curfew came just in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations and definitely made a positive impact. The four Cape Whale Coast Tourism offices saw the highest number of visitors since January 2020, Harold Porter Botanical Gardens reported an increase of 526 visitors as compared with December 2020 with Cape Nature’s Stony Point and the Kogelberg stating that they experienced a ‘very busy’ month. Final figures are still being calculated.”
Rudolf van der Berg from Burgundy Restaurant says he can only compare 2021 to 2019 as that was the last normal year, as most businesses were still under a total lockdown during 2020’s festive season.
“Compared to 2019 we are actually up in business. We had a great year and season. The season went on a bit longer in 2022 because the schools are starting a bit later. Burgundy’s Restaurant had a great season,” says Van der Berg.
Shane Sauvage, owner of La Pentola, says they had a great season in Hermanus. “Anything is better than the last two years. A very strong local season with the effect of the flights being cancelled in December which put a damper on things. But we did do well with our local tourists, and we are blessed that they stayed on a bit longer.
“We are very blessed that Hermanus has been identified as a holiday destination and a choice above many. The input of our new mayor, the amazing offerings that are happening all around and the ‘I Love Hermanus’ campaign, the standard of all of our great restaurants and accommodation make us a world class destination,” says Sauvage.
Lloyd mentions that the Overstrand hosted 219 unique events during December as well as the regularly weekly and monthly events which brings the total events to 289. “It was encouraging to see our venue owners collaborating with well-known musicians to stage a good number of live music performances. These events were generally well supported,” says Lloyd. She also adds that the feedback from restaurants and accommodation has been optimistic, and they look forward to seeing this buoyant trend continue right through to Easter and beyond.
“As the season continues for a while longer, we are pleased with how it has rolled out. Also encouraging is to see regular ‘swallows’ arriving for the first time in two years,” concludes Lloyd.
Cape Whale Coast Tourism regularly updates an events page and the link for this is https://whalecoast.info/events-page/