SEPTEMBER is Heritage and Tourism Month, and the Kouga Municipality is ready to strut its stuff after a crippling year due to the COVID-19 pandemic – hitting the tourism industry the hardest.
However, despite the myriad challenges
we had to face, we are eager to rebuild the economy, especially focusing on tourism. Tourism is one of the main economic drivers for Kouga, and thus all spheres of government need to play their part in ensuring that the region is ready for tourism activity.
Focusing on the complete family breakaway, the region offers a smorgasbord of unforgettable activities and a wonderful spread of restaurants and guest houses.
Whether it is nature, adventure, or culture you are after, everyone from all spheres of life is covered.
Activities include water slides, putt-putt, horse-riding, skydiving, swimming, sunbathing, whale and dolphin watching, game drives, hiking, strawberry picking and honey tasting, to name a few.
Not to forget about our heritage sites: Phillip’s Tunneland the sundial in Hankey, the Humansdorp Museum, the Kruisfontein Congregational Church and the fisherman’s graveyard at Pellsrus in Jeffreys Bay.
We are excited about the tourism beach front hub on the main beach in Jeffreys Bay, which acts as a tourism information centre, as well as a place where our tourists and visitors can rent deck chairs and umbrellas.
I encourage all residents to become the region’s ambassadors as the tourism sector picks up the pieces amid COVID-19 – losing millions of rands and hundreds of local jobs.
And to vaccinate – the sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can welcome more national and international tourists to our beautiful region – enabling our economy to return to full operation and create job opportunities.
It is every resident’s responsibility to convince their family, friends, and co-workers that the vaccination is safe and that it could save their lives.
The more people who get vaccinated before December, the less likely it is that we will experience a fourth wave over the holiday period – a fourth wave that will have a devastating effect on local tourism.
