Support For Chamber’s Tourism Economic Development Desk

NELSON MANDELA BAY: City Lodge Hotels has come on board as an opportunity partner of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s Tourism Economic Development Desk, strengthening private sector collaboration aimed at growing tourism as a catalyst for economic development, investment and job creation in the Metro.

Gqeberha is of particular importance to the hotel group, which has five hotels in the region representing all four of its brands: Courtyard Hotel, City Lodge Hotel, Town Lodge, and two Road Lodges, one of which is at the airport.

The partnership comes as Nelson Mandela Bay seeks to rebuild its tourism economy from a significantly lower base following the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Metro has seen signs of recovery, visitor numbers and overnight stays have not returned to pre-Covid levels. This reinforces the need for a more coordinated approach to unlock the untapped tourism potential, including coastal assets, rich heritage and cultural experiences, biodiversity offerings, business and sporting events, cruise opportunities, and strategic location as a gateway to the Eastern Cape and Garden Route.

The Chamber is in the process of establishing a Tourism Economic Development Desk, to be officially launched on 7 October 2026, that will focus on seven strategic interventions designed to boost and revive the tourism sector in the Metro.

These include:

• Safety and security;
• Development of curated tourism packages, marketing and promotion of key tourism attractions, experiences and destination offerings;
• Lobby airlines, cruise liners and tourism operators to strengthen accessibility and attractiveness;
• Lobby for national, continental and international events;
• Partner with the entrepreneurship desk to capacitate MSMEs in the tourism sector;
• Partner with the Skills Development Desk for job creation and skills capacitation; and
• Advocate for reforms and policy.

Chamber Chief Growth Officer, Lunga Mjodo, says City Lodge Hotels’ involvement was an important step in building a stronger and more coordinated tourism identity and value proposition for Nelson Mandela Bay.

“Tourism in the Bay is coming off a lower base and the reality is that visitor numbers have not fully recovered since Covid-19. We therefore need to move beyond simply asking people to visit the Bay and focus on creating a destination value proposition that gives them compelling reasons to live, work, visit, and stay in the ‘Bay of Opportunity’,” explains Mjodo.

He emphasises that longer stays are particularly important because of the economic value they create across the metro.

“The longer visitors stay, the greater their opportunity to experience what the metro has to offer and the greater the economic benefit that flows into the local economy,” adds Mjodo. “A visitor who stays for several nights can experience our beaches, wildlife, heritage, culture, food, adventure, and surrounding attractions rather than simply passing through. That has a direct impact on accommodation, restaurants, transport, retail, entertainment, tour operators, and small businesses.”

Mjodo says the Metro has many of the ingredients required to build a stronger tourism economy, but these need to be packaged and promoted as a coherent destination proposition.

“The Metro has an extraordinary combination of coastline, five Blue Flag beaches, wildlife, heritage, culture, outdoor experiences, and access to some of the Eastern Cape’s most compelling attractions. The opportunity now is to connect these assets into a stronger tourism identity and make it easier for visitors to understand what they can see, do and experience here, and why they should stay longer.

“City Lodge Hotels understands that a strong destination benefits the entire tourism value chain. This is not simply about filling hotel rooms; it is about growing the number of people who come to the Bay, extending the length of their stay, and increasing the economic activity generated by every visitor. That is why having a partner of this calibre is significant for the Tourism Economic Development Desk,” he comments.

The Chamber believes tourism should be viewed as a broader economic priority rather than the responsibility of the tourism industry alone. Every visitor contributes to an ecosystem that includes accommodation, restaurants, attractions, transport, fuel stations, retail, entertainment, professional services, and small businesses. Growing tourism, therefore, has the potential to create opportunities well beyond the traditional tourism sector.

Mjodo says the Desk will focus on practical interventions, leveraging its current structures and networks to help revive tourism in the Bay.

“Our ambition is not simply to increase visitor numbers; we want to see our Metro become a destination where people choose to discover, stay longer, experience more, and return. We also want to create the conditions that make the Bay more attractive for conferences, sporting events, cultural events, and other major gatherings that bring visitors and economic activity into the area.”

The Chamber will work with City Lodge Hotels and other stakeholders to support destination promotion, tourism packaging, visitor safety, infrastructure and cleanliness, skills development, entrepreneurship, and initiatives that strengthen the overall tourism experience.

Mjodo views the City Lodge Hotels partnership as providing an opportunity to broaden private-sector participation in the initiative: “Tourism is an economic multiplier, and the business community has a vested interest in its success. We welcome businesses that recognise the opportunity presented by a stronger tourism economy to come on board and contribute to building a destination that is more competitive, more visible, and better positioned to capture a greater share of domestic and international tourism.”

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, Chief Operating Officer at City Lodge Hotels, says the group appreciates the opportunity to partner with and support key tourism stakeholders in the regions in which it operates.

“We are pleased to support the Chamber’s Tourism Economic Development Desk, because a destination is stronger when private and public sector entities work together,” comments Sangweni-Siddo. “With five hotels across all four of our brands in Gqeberha, and 53 hotels in South Africa plus one each in Windhoek, Namibia; Gaborone, Botswana; and Maputo, Mozambique, we see daily how coordinated investment in tourism can translate into longer stays, stronger visitor numbers, and real economic benefit for the communities we operate in. Nelson Mandela Bay has exceptional coastal, cultural, and heritage assets, and we look forward to working alongside the Chamber and other stakeholders to help unlock that potential and build a more competitive tourism economy for this Metro.”