With KwaZulu-Natal’s hotel occupancy rates at an all-time high of 86% over the Heritage Day Long weekend, the province is expecting a stunning summer season.
KZN is a top international destination for travellers offering warm weather, blue flag status beaches, mouth-watering cuisine, adventure activities, watersports, safaris and more.
According to the South African Tourism Annual Report, the province was the number one domestic tourism destination in 2020, with 3.8 million trips.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal acting chief executive officer Phindile Makwakwa, said government and tourism trade partners has been working hard to turn the sector around over the past few months.
"We are delighted to see that the tides are finally turning in our favour and the numbers are showing positive growth. While the world, South Africa and KZN are not where we were before Covid19, the performance of the long weekend shows that our holidaymakers are slowly making their way back to KZN and we are very pleased to have them back," she said.
Speaking about KwaZulu-Natal being voted the number one domestic tourism destination in 2020, she said: "We are also thrilled that KZN is back on the number one spot again. The plan is to surpass the 2020 numbers this year. We believe we can achieve that by looking at the work that we have done thus far. Our continued partnership with the tourism trade is at the heart of this and our future success."
Makwakwa said they were setting their sights on the summer season following President Cyril Ramaphosa's relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown restriction to level 1.