What a shockingly filtered piece by Chris Gilmour (“SA tourism sector proves its worth”, January 17). Tourism is indeed all of these good things for the economy, and this year we have seen improvements in many areas and record numbers in others. But the real story is the devastation that is Durban’s non-recovery.
Widely reported elsewhere, Durban’s hotels are still well down on pre-Covid occupancy figures, with the south coast, the Garden Route and Cape Town benefiting. The picture used with the article, of Durban’s beachfront, is nothing if not cynical, as its beaches were routinely closed or stayed closed throughout the holiday season.
The much-vaunted repainting of the pools came to nought when they weren’t refilled. Durban is fundamental to SA’s tourism scene, and ANC/EFF mismanagement has brought it to its knees. Why avoid this point?
Martin Neethling
Via BusinessLIVE
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