SOPA 2026 | Mabuyane urges metros to invest in tourism infrastructure upgrades

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has called on the province’s two metropolitan municipalities to invest more in tourism-related infrastructure upgrades before hosting next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup. This as the province is positioning itself as the home of sports and creative tourism. Delivering his state of the province address at the Bhisho legislature’s Raymond Mhlaba chamber on Thursday, Mabuyane urged the Buffalo City and the Nelson Mandela Bay metros to prioritise tourism investment.

He said the province had raked in a record R6bn in tourism revenue in the last quarter of 2025, with more than R4bn of that spent by people who had visited the province in just the month of December. The province’s two metros are set to host some games when cricket enthusiasts and teams descend on South Africa for the tournament in late 2027. The global showpiece will also be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia between October and November 2027.

Delivering his speech, Mabuyane said his government was positioning the Eastern Cape as the home of sports and creative tourism. He said the passion of the people of the province on the sports field was converting into jobs, pride and global visibility. As a result of this, he urged both municipalities to make sure they put adequate investment into tourism.

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“In our schools, we are strengthening sporting codes such as rugby, cricket, football and golf so that learners feed directly into professional pathways. “We call on our metros to invest in tourism-related infrastructure this year as we prepare to host Cricket World Cup matches in 2027. “The Springboks will also be back in the province in June, for a match against the Barbarians, so we need to capitalise on that,” he said. Mabuyane’s comments come as the province will be treated to international cricket next year as Gqeberha and East London host Proteas’ international matches against Australia and Bangladesh, respectively.

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