Newsletter | March 2025

SCTIE TOURISM NEWSLETTER | March 2025

KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE ON THE SOUTH COAST

Dr Vusumuzi Sibiya

CEO of South Coast
Tourism & Investment Enterprise (SCTIE)

As the South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise (SCTIE), our mission is to drive economic growth, with tourism at the heart of our efforts. We cannot achieve this goal without collaboration between ourselves, local businesses, and government.

With the Easter season approaching – one of our biggest tourism seasons – we look forward to welcoming visitors to our Blue Flag beaches, great accommodation, and many events hosted on the KZN South Coast during this time. Our messaging also turns towards the incoming Sardine Run, a key tourism attraction that’s recognised on a global scale.

More recently, Aliwal Shoal – one of our three Marine Protected Areas and one of two world-class dive sites found here – was relaunched as a Mission Blue Hope Spot. This is a major international recognition of an ecologically important site, established by renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle. This is another momentous tourism initiative that we look forward to highlighting.

Initiatives such as these, alongside our many tourism assets, have proven to be major drawcards for families to the KZN South Coast, with our SCTIE Summer Occupancy Survey showing a 70% occupancy rate for this key tourism period. To encourage this momentum, we urge all our tourism establishments to support us in our endeavour of being Easter Ready, and to share the positive messaging around this beautiful region.

While we anticipate strong tourism numbers, we have to acknowledge that challenges like service delivery issues and beach water quality concerns affect visitor retention, while hindering growth and confidence in our region. To address this, we provide what support and feedback to Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM), highlighting the fact that service delivery is more than just infrastructure – it’s the foundation of a thriving tourism economy.

Yet, despite the challenges, our recent holiday tourism numbers show that we continue to remain an important destination for many local visitors. The potential is here – we simply need to work together to unlock it!

Let’s highlight our tourism assets, rebuild momentum, and ensure the KZN South Coast remains a top destination. Everyone needs to hear the message that now’s the time to visit the KZN South Coast!


	Research

	We received great feedback from 200 tourism establishments that responded to our SCTIE Summer Occupancy Survey for November & December 2024. The results, which were released on 27 January 2025, were based on email responses to our questionnaire to gain insight into the regions performance during this peak tourism period.

Marketing Tips

Alongside our research results, weve outlined some user-friendly marketing tips for our tourism establishment that leverage digital resources, and further promote our local tourism assets.

•	Highlight Unique Selling Points (USPs): Showcase the regions attractions like Blue Flag beaches, world-class dive sites, the Sardine Run, and top golf courses in your marketing.
•	Leverage Social Media: Use hashtags (#visitkznsouthcoast), collaborate with influencers, and run targeted ads to reach a wider audience.
•	Optimise Website SEO: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, use targeted keywords, update blogs, and include clear call-to-actions.


	Team Building Tour Package

	We have identified corporate team building as having massive potential for driving tourism growth on the KZN South Coast. This is supported by our quality accommodation and conference venues, award-winning restaurants, 11 golf courses, Blue Flag beaches, world-class dive sites, and curated outdoor adventure activities.

MARKETING UPDATE

Our overarching ‘Now’s the Time to Visit the KZN South Coast’ messaging continues to filter through all marketing material, with this quarter focusing on the region being a ‘Getaway’ ideal for MICE tourism, Valentine’s Day and the Easter holidays.



Buy Local Campaign Update		Fam Trips

We continue to welcome new Buy Local members every quarter, with a special focus on our Buy Local members from the fashion industry who were profiled this quarter.		We hosted two impactful familiarisation (fam) trips on the KZN South Coast, giving media personalities a first-hand experience of our incredible tourism assets.


	Tourism Awareness Campaign Update

	This quarter, our tourism awareness campaign is themed ‘It’s Getaway Ready!’. We are calling on all our residents, tourism establishments, business owners, and stakeholders to be ‘Easter ready’ and be proud ambassadors of the KZN South Coast.

PUBLIC RELATIONS UPDATE


	Our media relations remain strong through a dedicated PR campaign, with our ‘Now’s the Time to Visit’ and ‘Getaway’ themes gaining traction via targeted press releases. Ongoing media monitoring enables us to address tourism marketing challenges, respond to media queries, and secure positive exposure for the KZN South Coast.

ADVERTISING UPDATE


	We have continued to drive our advertising exposure via digital platforms, with ‘Now’s the Time to Visit’ and ‘Easter Getaway’ messaging shared on Instagram, Meta, X, and LinkedIn. Our Easter Getaway-related content posted on these platforms highlighted our family outings, restaurants, Blue Flag beaches, and outdoor cultural excursions such as The Mission Tourism Route, Great Drives Out, and The Wellness Way.

DIGITAL MEDIA UPDATE


	Our updated website and dynamic social media channels consistently engage both current and new audiences every day. Through digital marketing, we deliver real-time updates straight to visitors’ tablets or smartphones, fostering direct interaction that enhances our communication and marketing strategies.



	Social Media		Website

	The KZN South Coast experienced a successful festive season, with tourism establishments reporting high occupancy rates as reflected in our Occupancy Research Survey. As we approach the Easter holidays, our focus shifts to enhancing social media content to support local establishments in promoting upcoming festivals and events.		To ensure our tourism website remains accessible and user-friendly, we’ve implemented numerous technical enhancements. These improvements have resulted in a 100% uptime, ensuring tourists reliably access features such as operator engagement, detailed listings, and integrated Google Maps for seamless navigation.



	Explore KZN South Coast App		Events Guide

	The ‘Explore KZN South Coast’ app syncs seamlessly with our tourism website, delivering real-time updates and accurate, user-friendly information. Visitors can book accommodations, find dining options, and navigate the region with ease, thanks to features like interactive Visitor Information Centres, Google Maps integration, and an updated Events Guide.		As always, we encourage families and friends to join us for events on the KZN South Coast and have continued to update our digital Events Guide with all local happenings. We encourage our tourism establishments to share any promotional events with us so that we can advertise them extensively through our Events Guide, press releases, and social media platforms.

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE


	Growing our tourism economy sustainably means supporting local communities and expanding into rural areas. This quarter, weve launched several initiatives to upskill youth and integrate rural communities into mainstream tourism.



	SMME Development and Support		Tourism Product Support

	We partnered with the National Department of Tourism (NDT) and the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) to launch a Rural Tourism Capacity Building workshop at Margate Hotel on 5 November 2024, training 60 Ugu District tourism SMMEs.		We celebrate two new additions to the KZN South Coast: The Upside-Down House in Melville, featuring its iconic inverted design; and The Notebook Hotel in Umtentweni, offering modern amenities like a coffee shop, conference room, pool, and diverse accommodation options, including disability- and pet-friendly rooms.


	Stakeholder Relations and Engagements

	Ugu District Priority Committee on Rural Safety and Tourism
	Date: 12 December 2024
	Location: Port Shepstone SAPS
	Purpose: Planning for tourism safety during the 2024 festive season.

Keep Updated

There is always so much happening on the KZN South Coast! Please feel free to share our newsletter with other interested parties and encourage them to sign up for updates. Please also submit any specials, events, images and blog content for digital marketing to info@sctie.co.za.

We’ve made it easy for people to sign up for our mailers via email communication and the website so everyone is updated with relevant information.

	If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free ‘Explore KZN South Coast’ app from Google Play and Apple app stores. We urge you to encourage visitors to also download the app for regular updates on our tourism offerings. Information can also be found by visiting South Coast Tourism on Facebook; South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise on YouTube; @infosouthcoast on Twitter or Instagram; sctiekznsouthcoast on TikTok; Info Ugu South Coast Tourism on LinkedIn; the SCTIE website to check out the Events Calendar, the KZN South Coast Meeting Planner Guide and more! Watch why KZN South Coast is a top tourism destination here. And click here to check out previous SCTIE press releases.

	To find out more about the KZN South Coast’s tourism opportunities, contact 039 682 7944, email info@sctie.co.za or visit www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za.