High summer on the beaches
So was it good or bad? The jury is still out …
WW reporter
With the first festive season when the 4x4s on beaches ban kicked in, did
tourists stay away in droves - or is the Park beginning to attract a different
kind of visitor?
Said Pierre Blignaut, owner of the 56-bed Elephant Lake Hotel which opened
on December 14: “We had a good first season, but I think we’ll
only see the effect of the beach-driving ban this year as a lot of people
had booked thinking the beaches would be open.”
He also owns two sets of holiday flats, Flamingo and Cormari whose occupancy
was reasonably up on the previous year, he said.
Con Vermaak of the 60-bed Seasands Lodge said: “Our season started
late and ended early. It was nowhere near as good as before though the B
and Bs seem to have done well.”
Said Tightlines Holiday Flats owner, Lafras Uys, a member of the Beach
Action Committee of SA which opposes the ban: “The season was a disaster
though it did pick up between Christmas and New Year. Everyone is suffering
and it’s getting worse by the day.”
Said Kian Barker of Shaka Barker Tours in St Lucia who runs turtle tours
and game drives: “There’s a definite change in the type of market,
with the inexpensive end attracting less visitors. As far as eco-tourists
are concerned, we’ve done better than the year before.”
Hugh Morrison of the 12-bed Makakatana Bay Lodge, the only private facility
within the Park, said: “The ban is chasing away the local tourists
the town used to get, but they never spent much here anyway. The majority
of our visitors are from overseas and don’t use their own vehicles.
But St Lucia needs to create special niches for tourists to do adventurous
things that are out of the ordinary.”
Said Robert Clark of the 600-bed Sodwana Bay Lodge which attracts mainly
divers: “We were 100 percent full though there was chaos on the beach
as only 300 vehicles are allowed onto it and there were long queues.”
* With such differing opinions, the Authority, supported by the University
of KZN and Tourism KZN, has initiated research into shifting tourism patterns
and preferences. This will also provide more accurate visitor numbers.
Bumper festive season crowds at Cape Vidal – and no beach driving - caused some visitor frustration
Two young locals enjoying the sun and sand
En route to Sodwana Bay beach on New Year’s Day
And this is what the beach at St Lucia looked like ...