COP 17 "A Golden Opportunity"

The Cop 17 climate change conference in Durban at the end of the year would be a “golden opportunity” for KwaZulu-Natal to attract investment, a tourism launch heard in Joburg on Monday. “We are going to seize the moment,” Mike Mabuyakhulu, the province's MEC for Economic Development and Tourism vowed. Speaking at the launch of a new tourism route linking KZN, Mozambique and Swaziland, he said more than 800 Chief Executives from major investment companies would be in Durban during the climate talks and “we are going to maximise this golden opportunity”.

The province was involved in preparations for the event and Mabuyakhulu predicted there would be many delegates keen to invest in green economy projects. The tripartite tourism initiative between the three regions, unveiled to the media on the eve of World Tourism Day, aims to promote the area as a single tourism and investment destination, with a vision to enable visitors to experience all three regions in a single day. Focusing on culture and nature, the three regions, supported by their governments and tourism authorities, want to grow tourism figures, including boosting international arrivals as well as increasing the number of tourism attractions that visitors can go to, thereby creating jobs. And most important of all, said Mabuyakhulu, they want to attract private sector investment into the three areas. “We are going to adopt an aggressive stance to promote the route,” he said, adding that it would be marketed at all the international tourism shows. There was already a “high level” of interest from potential investors, Mabuyakhulu said. The aim was for the route to become one of the best-known in the world, he said.

While Cape Town has the famous Garden Route, the three regions will now have their own tourism trail to be known as East 3 Route. It will be launched from October 24-27 when drivers in more than 50 4x4s will travel from KZN to Mozambique and Swaziland, with officials from the three regions hosting investors, celebrities and possibly a president or two at workshops and gala dinners, where the investment opportunities will be showcased. Macford Nsibande, the Swaziland Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, said: “We are trying our best to become a pilgrimage of culture in Africa.”

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Source: IOL online (Barbara Cole)