Hope springs for tourism
The recent announcement that the Whale Festival will no longer take place and the fact that South Africa is still on the UK’s red list when it comes to travel restrictions makes one wonder how all this will affect business locally, and particularly in the Overstrand.
Describing South Africa, Clinton Lerm of the Whale Coast Business and Community Forum and owner of Misty Waves Boutique Hotel uses the analogy of a vault inside a bank that has five doors before one can get to it. “The doors are opening one after the other,” he says, “but the big problem is that we are still waiting for the UK to allow its citizens to visit us. That country is currently one of our biggest markets as we receive about 1,2 million visitors annually from there.”
Lerm is optimistic and says the Overstrand is seeing more and more visitors from countries such as Germany.
“There is definitely movement in the market,” he said. “There are more tourists on the Cliff Path than there were a month or two ago. Restaurants and hotels are also seeing more tourists now.”
Frieda Lloyd, Whale Coast Tourism Manager, is feeling upbeat and positive about tourism in the Overstrand.
“I am definitely seeing some light over the last couple of weeks with more and more visitors arriving,” she said. “People in the tourism industry always get excited when they hear foreign accents. And in the last while we have heard lots of German, American and Russian accents.”
Lloyd was, however, disappointed to hear South Africa was still on the UK’s red list, but she hopes this will soon be reviewed. “We need this UK market to open up urgently,” she said, “but until then domestic tourism keeps us busy – especially with whale watching and Creation Wines, which was placed 10th in the world. Here there are lots of things to keep tourists busy.”
Lloyd is also looking forward to the school holidays as it will attract lots of visitors who will bring their children along to enjoy the fresh air and the beach.
Said Lerm: “This long weekend most establishments have had good occupancy. This includes a mix of domestic and international visitors. Hermanus was very busy despite our not having a Whale Festival.”