Durban enjoys 345 days of sunshine a year. A short drive from its sandy beaches are game lodges, the Drakensberg mountains and an array of other options to keep even the most demanding tourist happy. Hence, there are determined efforts afoot to restore Durban’s reputation as one of the South Africa’s premier travel destinations.

Over the past two decades, Durban’s market share in terms of national tourism arrivals has declined from more than 34% to 26%. As a result, new investment into tourism infrastructure declined, which in turn exacerbated the problem. But there are numerous other dimensions to the problem:

• In the 1980s, the city’s beachfront hotels were gradually downgraded from high-end to mid-market.

• With the removal of discriminatory Apartheid laws and the free movement of all South Africans, the socio-economic profile of the local tourist market changed.

• Durban’s international airport saw fewer and fewer international flights originating and terminating in the city.

• With South Africa’s loss of pariah status, many South Africans travelled abroad for their holidays.

Turning the corner

However, John van Rooyen, operations manager of hotel group Southern Sun in Kwazulu-Natal, believes the corner is being turned. He highlights the dramatic impact felt by the opening of the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Durban in 1997. Having outpaced both Johannesburg and Cape Town to market in terms of providing a world-class facility, Durban saw a surge in conference business and business travellers as the world beat a path to South Africa following the 1994 political transition.

The net effect was not just higher hotel occupancy rates – a welcome boost – but also significant marketing value as conference delegates returned home, wowed by their experience.

The ICC was recently voted the best conference venue in Africa for a third consecutive year, trumping competitor venues in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The facility has already hosted some the largest and highest profile events to come to South Africa, including the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Interna-tional AIDS Conference and the World Conference Against Racism.

An investment of R395m ($61m) has been allocated to double the size of the centre, that will include a new 6000-seat auditorium, increased seating for 13,000 people, an entertainment area for concerts of up to 15,000 people and an additional 5000m2 of exhibition or conference space.

The benefits gained from the construction of the ICC was not just the direct economic impact from conferences. Linked developments, such as a Hilton hotel, plus precinct-wide improvements created a positive overall stimulus and impetus. The new additions to the ICC will necessitate new investment in accommodation and other support infrastructure.

Having now won the bid to host the 2010 soccer world cup, Durban faces a surge in new investment on tourism infrastructure, to ready the country for the world’s biggest sporting event. Already there are suggestions that the world soccer governing body, Fifa, might base itself at the ICC – and there are fanciful hopes that Durban might even get to host the cup final in a new 90,000-seat stadium.

Gathering speed

Mr van Rooyen sees the momentum growing. In addition to a more effective response to crime (one of South Africa’s biggest challenges), he also points to a more sophisticated approach to positioning Durban in the national and international tourism space, highlighting the emergence of a broader range of hotel and lodging establishments catering for different customer segments. “Durban has a long stretch of coastline on either side of it meaning that each venue can tailor a unique experience suited to its customers. Durban does not need to be known as a destination for only one kind of traveller.”

Durban is heading for a tourism boom, Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo predicted recently during public discussions on a tourism strategy for Durban and the province of Kwazulu-Natal. With the success of the ICC, luxury developments like Zimbali to the north of Durban, more than R2bn in casino development, the 2010 soccer world cup and increased visitor traffic in general, unlocking Durban’s tourism potential is proceeding rapidly.