LOCAL hoteliers and entrepreneurs are preparing to reap rich pickings from the 15 000 to 20 000 visitors coming to South Africa later this month for the big UN conference on climate change.

Several hotels and bed ’n’ breakfasts in Durban are reported to have jacked up tariffs considerably to take advantage of the pre-Christmas tourism bonanza, while a range of allied enterprises are waiting in the wings to pick up extra business from the November 28-December 9 summit – the 17th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17).

But once the hotels, caterers, restaurants, car-hire companies and other entrepreneurs have raked up or scraped up what they can from the conference bonanza, what legacy will be left behind in South Africa from hosting a meeting which is intended to protect the Earth and its people from the ravages of climate turmoil?

And what, if anything, will the conference do to shift the mindset of the public and big business towards a more sustainable “green” economy?

These are some of the tougher questions which are being put aside for now as local entrepreneurs prepare to cash in on COP17.

Judging by the tariff list from the official accommodation agents, Thompsons Africa, delegates are unlikely to find single beds close to the conference venue for much less than R1 500 a night.

Durban 300510 The giant pool and beach club area of the luxurious R450 million Fairmont Zimbali Hotel and Resort, which officially opened near Ballito yesterday.PICTURE: TERRY HAYWOOD Pic Terry Haywood

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If they are ready to look around, single rooms can be had for as little as R650 a night at the Road Lodge next to Durban Station, while the cheapest official deal seems to be the Mesami Hotel in Currie Road at R550 a night.

Alternatives include trekking 74km southwards to the Blue Marlin hotel in Scottburgh (R390 a night single) or driving 47km northwards to Michael’s Nook Self-Catering in Ballito where you can rest your head for R490 a night.

On the Durban beachfront, bottom-of-the-range single rooms range from about R1 000 at the Beach Hotel to R1 800 at the Southern Sun Elangeni (or R8 700 if you fancy the presidential suite).

For those who can afford to sleep in style, the Suncoast Hotel and Towers is advertising its penthouse suite for R19 700 a night. If you fancy the more up-market digs at the Oyster Box in Umhlanga, the cheapest option is R5 000 a night in a garden loft, R10 000 in a sea-facing cabana or R16 000 in a supe-rior garden villa.

Similar tariffs are available next door at the Beverly Hills Hotel (R5 000 for a standard room and R11 000 in the presidential suite).

If you are really stinking rich, the Fairmont Zimbali Resort is where you need to be. Here, the single rooms start at R3 000 a night, rising to R27 000 a pop in the royal suite or a staggering R44 000 a night in the presidential suite.

DURBAN: 011111 Mesami Hotel in Currie road is the cheapest hotel option for COP 17 delegates PICTURE: GCINA NDWALANE

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So far, at least 6 000 hotel rooms have been booked in the Durban area through the official COP17 booking agents, but an equal number of hotel and bed ’n’ breakfast rooms are likely to have been booked independently.

Sue Bannister, of the eThekwini municipality’s strategic projects unit, says most central Durban hotels are chock- a-block and delegates are moving further afield in search of accommodation.

Although most of the visitors are hoping to find rooms within a 50km radius of the city centre, conference officials said delegates were now booking into hotels in Pietermaritzburg, which requires a daily round-trip trek of nearly 200km.

Nina Freysen-Pretorius, head of The Conference Company which is assisting Durban with conference arrangements, says more than 100 buses are being provided by the national Department of Transport to shuttle delegates daily from their hotels to the ICC.

The shuttle buses will shift delegates to a central transit area from pick-up points at the Pavilion (Westville), Scottburgh, Ballito, Umhlanga, Morningside and the beachfront.

The shuttle service has also been extended to Pietermaritzburg, and will run daily until 6pm. A smaller shuttle service will run until 10pm, with back-up shuttle buses on standby in case some of the climate meetings run into the early hours.

However, conference organisers say there are hundreds of more impecunious activist delegates from non-government and community-based organisations struggling to find affordable accommodation in Durban.

With most of the cheaper inns booked up, some delegates may end up camping out in tent settlements, similar to those set up last year for Australian World Cup tourists.