Nelson Mandela Bay’s peak tourism season is upon us — and we know from recent media reports and just by looking at the state of the metro around us, that our state of readiness is, at best, uneven. And it all comes in a compact city environment at great value for money and ease of access compared to other major centres and wildlife destinations. Nationally, the travel and tourism sectors account for an estimated 1.6-million jobs (about 10% of all employed people in SA), and about 8-9% of GDP.
The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that employment in the tourism sector in SA has a 2.5 multiplier effect — for every person directly employed in tourism, another 1.5 jobs are created in the supply chain by the tourism business’s purchases of goods and services. This is likely a conservative figure, as there are a number of further impacts on employment — the spending by tourists in diverse local businesses, as well as the spending of tourism-related employees in the local economy. For every restaurant meal enjoyed, groceries and toiletries purchased at a supermarket, curios and souvenirs bought from local markets or street vendors, museum or gallery visited, excursion booked, shuttle or taxi taken — there is an impact.
And tourists also need pharmacies, doctors, haircuts, shoe repairs, replacement phone chargers, and all kinds of other daily necessities. Domestic tourists visiting friends and relatives, rather than staying in formal accommodation, accounted for just over half of the 1.2-million domestic visitors to the Bay in 2024. From fixing up the house ahead of the visitors’ arrival, to buying additional groceries, to extra days of work for employees such as domestic workers, childminders and gardeners — there is an impact.
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Leisure tourism is an important “marketing window” for the Bay, in terms of building positive perceptions and reputation that influence future business tourism, attracting conferences and events, and building an investment case. Where we are let down, however, is that around the high points of what visitors love about the Bay, they register their dismay in visitor surveys by the metro at a lack of safety and security, vulnerability to crime, dirty and littered environments, decaying abandoned heritage buildings, poorly maintained public spaces and facilities, inadequate infrastructure, potholes and non-working street and traffic lights — an overall impression of dilapidation, a lack of care.
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