KwaDukuza Municipality wants to boost its image and capacity as a top tourism destination by opening a new tourism office.
KwaDukuza Municipality mayor, Lindile Nhaca made the revelations as she delivered the State of the Municipality Address on Wednesday.
“In the next financial year we will be officially opening the first Tourism Information Office within the tourism centre.
“This office will be located in the new KwaDukuza Museum. This office is being positioned to market KwaDukuza as a tourism destination with emphasis on promoting township, cultural or heritage tourism routes,” she said.
The mayor said tourism remains a key economic sector which continues to create direct or indirect jobs.
She said when they took over the council in 2021, they had agreed that tourism and entertainment will be among the priority areas for the municipality.
“Our journey of recovering our economy continues unrelentingly after several economic shocks. In line with our Legkotla recommendations, the council has identified several signature events,” said the mayor.
She said these events have shown a massive impact on the municipality’s economy therefore in the upcoming financial year, “we have made budget provisions to support the following events”.
The 2024 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neil World Surfing Series Event has a budget of R10 million, which the bulk of will be allocated towards prize money and the event logistics. The 2024 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neil will be taking place between June 25 to July 8.
The 2024 Blythedale Beach Festival has a budget of R600 000 which is close to 100% increase of what was budgeted for in the last financial year. The event is growing, and it caters to domestic tourists and locals who usually spend their time on our beach.
In this next financial year, we will support the return of the Chief Albert Luthuli Walk event which will take place during July 2024.
The Mercury