Paarl Post reported on the struggling tourism sector within Drakenstein already in 2022 with the closure of the Drakenstein Local Tourism Association (DLTA).
The paper covered its strategies to uplift tourism in the area, especially after the only tourism office had closed down.
As facts and feedback seem to indicate, there has been no real progress on these strategies, with no updates whatsoever received from the municipality to date.
In two previous articles, “DM kicks tourism in the teeth” and “Tourism info centres closing”, the municipality mentioned it had a strategy in place to encourage tourism in the Boland, which was repeated in its recent email to Paarl Post.
In “DM kicks tourism in the teeth” the Drakenstein Municipality said: “New tourism focus centres on developing a wider range of tourism products, attracting investment; and ensuring that the tourism rand reaches across Drakenstein”.
In ‘Tourism info centres closing’ they said: “Since February 2022, Drakenstein Municipality has been working closely with its partners in the tourism industry to get our strategy in place […].”
However, the proof is in the pudding, which currently Drakenstein Municipality has little to show for.
According to Seraj Johaar, executive director of corporate and planning services at Drakenstein Municipality, the municipality recently launched the Paarl East Street Museum Heritage Route and will host the 17th International Fair Trade Towns Conference in 2024.
Moreover, it is busy developing a “sustainable tourism route”, which focuses on reaching destinations in an environmentally friendly way.
However, what is not clear is how the municipality will advertise the attractions to ensure visitors to the area.
According to Johaar other initiatives include “media educationals”, which entail “co-hosting travel media members to explore [and showcase] the Drakenstein destination.
“The municipality partners with event organisers through the provision of event support with a specific focus on sports and adventure tourism, which aligns with its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) priorities, aiming to boost this segment of tourism,” Johaar added.
What is also not clear, is why the municipality currently only has two initiatives to broadcast since they started to manage the area’s tourism sector in February 2022.
Unanswered question sent to the municipality therefore still arises:. What plans does Drakenstein Municipality have to encourage tourism in the area?. How has the municipality’s tourism strategy encouraged tourism in the area up until now?
The DLTA was forced to shut its doors due to tender non-renewal from the municipality, its biggest source of income.
“Drakenstein Municipality could not renew the grant agreement with the DLTA, as grant agreements at municipalities were under scrutiny by the Auditor-General of South Africa,” Johaar explained in an email to Paarl Post. “If the municipality simply renewed a grant to a tourism association it could have run the risk of losing its clean audit status.
In the previous article, “DM kicks tourism in the teeth”, the municipality also said it ended the grant because neither of the two tenders received from the DLTA matched its R2,3 million annual budget.
This then begs the question of why the municipality did not sit with the DLTA and discuss the budget, especially in terms of what its plans were and the costs involved.
Another of the municipality’s objectives was to shift its focus not only to wine tourism, but also sport and adventure, which the DLTA responded to in the previous article, stating “this simply does not make sense” as wine tourism is one of the Western Cape’s biggest attractions.
According to Johaar, “the municipality acknowledges that wine tourism has and continues to be a main attraction.
“However, post-Covid-19 tourism trends encourage destinations to diversify and become more resilient. It is important that our tourism offering aligns with international trends, which is why we opted for a broader focus.”
As far as Paarl Post’s knowledge goes there are also no tourism initiatives in the pipeline by Drakenstein Municipality for the upcoming silly season, which includes festivals.
The annual Christmas light show, however, does take place annually, but leaves a lot to be desired as less and less flock to the CBD to attend it.
The Cape Winelands are a popular destination among local as well as international tourists, but rather than visit the Drakenstein they shift their attention to Stellenbosch and the Breede Valley.
It has been more than a year since Drakenstein Municipality has been managing the tourism sector, but what it currently has to show for it are three initiatives, one still under construction – one street museum, an under construction “sustainable tourism route” as well as the 17th International Fair Trade Towns Conference in 2024, which will be hosted in the area.
