Tourism in the Drakenstein Valley has been a subject of contention in recent years, particularly following the closure of the Drakenstein Local Tourism Association (DLTA) in 2022, after the municipality withdrew its funding. Since then, the municipality has sought to implement various strategies to revitalise the tourism sector, aiming to align its efforts with those of neighbouring municipalities such as Stellenbosch and Breede Valley.
One such strategy is the Draft Toursim Development Plan, which will be out for comment on 15 May in the Paarl Post, according to Seraj Johaar, the Drakenstein Municipality’s (DM) Executive Director of Corporate and Planning Services.
The draft document was also presented at the most recent council meeting of 30 April.
Another strategy includes the establishment of the Tourism Advisory Board.
This concept was discussed at a public meeting at the Labori Wine Farm, which was attended by several representatives from the valley’s tourism sector.
The concept behind the Tourism Advisory Board is for approximately 14 stakeholders to nominate themselves for election to the board and collaborate closely with the municipality.
This will enable the private sector to provide input and guidance to the public sector on matters relating to the valley’s tourism industry, Paarl Post previously reported.
This advisory board as well as the Draft Tourism Development plan was implemented by the municipality after André Fourie, Freedom Front Plus council member, raised a motion about the DM’s tourism strategy in July 2024.
According to Johaar “the Tourism Advisory Board has not been established yet.
“The plan will be implemented once the Drakenstein Municipal Council approves the final Tourism Development Plan, [and] this will take place after the completion of the public participation process.”
The Draft Tourism Plan
The Draft Tourism Development Plan will aim to improve tourism in Simondium, Paarl, Mbekweni, Wellington, Gouda, Hermon and Saron for the next five years, from 2025 to 2030.
It plans to:
• Grow the tourism economy;
• Create employment opportunities;
• Attract visitors;
• Lure investments; and
• To implement tourism projects, initiatives and programmes within the tourism sector.
According to the draft document this plan was already approved my the municipal council in 2019, but will only be rolled out now. A reason for this was not provided.
One of its strategic objective is to “positioning Drakenstein as a competitive role-player in sports-, outdoor-, adventure- and wellness tourism and to enhance the area as one of the leading film destinations in the Cape Winelands.”
Additional focus areas include:
• Digital destination marketing where specific towns and its offerings will be advertised online;
• Destination management which includes a “coordinated management approach of all the elements that constitute a tourism destination and takes a strategic approach to integrate the respective elements in the tourism value chain.”
• Tourism product development which will focus on the development of key tourism attractions within the Drakenstein such as wine tastings;
• Sound investment strategies;
• Additional infrastructure as well as maintaining existing infrastructure; and
• Skills development and job opportunities.
The draft document included the visitor trends for 2024, roughly 20% of whom were international and 80% local 89,3% for the purpose of leisure.
The most common age group was 51-70 years, and the length of stay two to three nights. These visitors stayed mostly in guesthouses and B&Bs (46,5%), followed by hotels (28,1%) and, lastly, in self-catering accommodation (21,3%).
