Economics: Tourism Trends
it to Johannesburg was laid in 1895,
the city has experienced a tremendous boom in the tourism industry over
the past few years and is set to experience more growth in the industry
in the years to come. Durban is already the most popular destination for
domestic tourists in South Africa and is second only to Cape Town for tourists
from abroad. Durban's Golden Mile has the highest concentration of
hotels in all of South Africa.
The city planners feel that Durban will become South Africa's number one destination for tourism with the completion of the new international airport in 2010. The airport is crucial to Durban's tourism industry not only because it will help push Durban to the top of the vacation travel market, but especially because it will give Durban the edge it needs to become a world class destination for conventions. In recent years the DMA has invested a lot of money into making Durban an attractive site for international conventions because the metropolitian council has calculated that convention tourists spend more money per capita than any other kind of tourist. In addition to the construction of the new airport, the DMA has constructed the International Convention Center, a massive facility capable of holding eleven seperate conventions simultaneously. To learn more about the ICC click here.
The overall contribution of tourism to the DMA economy is difficult to figure directly because the industry encompases a broader range of goods and services beyond accomodation and transportion. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that the overall contribution of tourism the economy (formal and informal) at 25% with the potential to be much higher as tourism and finance gain bigger shares of the city economy and industry becomes less centralized and more evenly dispersed throughout KwaZulu-Natal.
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