Summer 2020: Eastern Cape open for safe, responsible and sensible holiday fun

Coffee Bay on the spectacular Wild Coast was the highly appropriate setting for the launch of ECPTA’s 2020 Summer holiday season.

Where else to drive home the message that our province, blessed with wide open spaces, hundreds of kilometres of unspoilt beaches and exquisite wildlife sanctuaries, remains the perfect getaway destination?

In fact, given the Eastern Cape’s expansive geographic profile, our province may be uniquely positioned to aggressively rebuild our tourism sectors – safely, responsibly and with build-in social sensibility.

“Nature is calling,” said ECPTA CEO Vuyani Dayimani. “We invite tourists from around the country to come enjoy our province’s natural beauty and to discover why the Eastern Cape is the perfect place to come relax, unwind and re-energise after a difficult and challenging year.”

“Despite lingering restrictions,” he noted, “we can still celebrate the festive season and experience summer differently. Allow yourself to rediscover and to become entangled with nature.”

Eastern Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mlungisi Mvoko, speaking at the launch, noted that while tourism was one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, there has also been an encouraging recovery.

“This brings hope that the festive season will assist to lift the sector,” he said.

“In trying to support this increase, the Eastern Cape government and private sector have been collaborating and endorsing protocols and common standards to ensure the wellbeing of the sector workforce and that of the travellers as the sector transitions into the ‘new normal’.

William Ross, chairperson of the Wild Coast Holiday Association, said tourism traditionally has centred on history, location and luxury affordability. “We now have an opportunity to change these old perceptions to what makes us unique, and that is unforgettable experiences and stories.”

Our thanks to all the stakeholders and our diverse basket of tourism partners who supported and attended the launch. We will summer differently; we will celebrate responsibly, and we will build back better.