With over 800 kilometres of awe-inspiring coastline and some of South Africa’s most stunning beaches, the Eastern Cape Province remains one of the top tourism destinations of note countrywide. The province boasts of landscapes that are adorned with jaw-dropping rock formations, and its ecosystems teem with a magnificent diversity of flora and fauna.
This was more the reason the Minister Patricia de Lille and her Tourism Department launched the 2023 Summer Campaign in Sarah Baartman on Tuesday, to remind the country and world, of the unique offering in the province, including the “Big 7”, a thrilling roster that includes lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffalos, southern Right whales, and Great White sharks.
Apart from the province being a home to Tata Nelson Mandela, it is equally known for its warm and welcoming people, who extend generous hospitality to all.
“Our decision to bring the launch of the summer campaign here is intentional, as we are committed to highlighting the less-visited provinces and regions of our country. We also couldn’t have chosen a better province to do this than the province so rich in history and unparalleled beauty.”
“We do this to shift the spotlight to every corner of our nation because tourism brings immense benefits to host communities and thus, we want these benefits to be felt in even the most remote of areas.” said the minister.
According to the minister, each province in South Africa has its unique and most amazing hidden gems and the Summer Campaign launch in the EC is a mission to highlight such hidden gems and showcase them to all of the country and the world.
As she called all to go ShotLeft to explore the Eastern Cape and the country’s iconic beauty at large, the minister said the tourism industry is continuously exploring creative ways in which to make travel more affordable.
“At the beginning of this month, we hosted Sho’t Left Travel Week from September 4th to the 10th, during which we featured a range of discounted deals for local travellers.These enticing offers were advertised on the Shot Left website, and I am delighted to report that many South Africans seized the opportunity.”
“The results are remarkable: 920 deals were loaded for the Sho’t Left Travel Week, and 32 of those deals came from the Eastern Cape, as 94 660 people come to our website in that week. The “Book now” button was clicked on 10 481 times; this is the number of leads that we managed to create for the trade partners that loaded their deals however, the most popular deals were those that offered on average R3 000 for 2 people or R5 000 for 4 people.” de Lille sad.
