SA tourism 'overpricing' warning
Craig Elyot
4 November 2004
South Africa is in danger of pricing itself out of the international tourism market, warns KwaZulu-Natal arts, culture and tourism MEC Narend Singh.
Speaking at the opening of KZN's Provincial Tourism Conference on Monday, Singh said it was disturbing to learn on a recent overseas trip that South African accommodation and car hire prices were considered to be too high.
"I was told most German tourists prefer Kenya to South Africa because our hotel accommodation is 175% more expensive", Singh said. "A certain car hire company operating here was rated the most expensive in the world.
"I believe we need to pay serious attention to these matters. A price differential of 175% is massive. We could be in real danger of pricing ourselves out of the international market."
Singh said he intended raising the issue with the hotel industry and other tourism operators. They needed to look seriously at their margins and see what could be
trimmed, he explained.
"We need to keep our eye on the ball. We need to make sure our opportunities in tourism are not squandered. We need to be sure we offer tourists value for money - good service and competitive prices."
On the plus side, Singh said tourism in KwaZulu-Natal was taking on new dimensions with the World Heritage Site status for the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park and the Ukahlamba/Drakensberg mountain range.
He said these attractions made the province a worthwhile destination in any Southern Africa package sold on the international market.
Massive foreign investment in leisure and accommodation facilities on the North Coast would also place the province on an upmarket international tourism circuit that included Europe, the Middle East and East Africa, he said.
The development of Durban's Point Waterfront and the likely development of a new international airport at La Mercy all contributed to tourism in KZN, he added.
The MEC said he
was convinced the province could also realise the national objectives of black economic empowerment through tourism.
Source: BuaNews
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