Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters. The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters.
The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
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OVERVIEW<br />
Tourism<br />
Events and adventures are drawing more visitors to the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Nelson Mandela Bay has won<br />
the bid to host the IRONMAN<br />
World Championships in 2018.<br />
• Dolphin tourism could be<br />
a new trend.<br />
• Nelson Mandela Bay<br />
metro earned R7.3-billion<br />
from tourism in 2016.<br />
South Africa has hosted the world’s best in cricket, rugby and<br />
football. Now some of world’s fittest athletes will battle it out<br />
in and near the sea in Port Elizabeth in the 2018 IRONMAN<br />
70.3 World Championship. Scheduled for the first two days in<br />
September, this is a first for Africa, but not entirely surprising because<br />
the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality has been hosting<br />
the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship since 2015 and held<br />
its first IRONMAN event as far back as 2004. Enthusiastic crowds of up to<br />
80 000 have been known to line the route and the event will undoubtedly<br />
be a fillip for the local economy.<br />
More than 6 000 athletes are expected to participate from more than<br />
100 global qualifying events.<br />
Buffalo City has its own IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon. In <strong>2017</strong>, the 10th running<br />
of the event was held in the last week of January, and East London<br />
is home to several other popular cycling and running events.<br />
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism lists a series of events hosted in 2016 to<br />
prove the metropole’s credentials as an Event City: the Commonwealth<br />
Judo Championships, IRONMAN Africa, the Ocean Racing Series (a world<br />
championship), the Herald Cycle Tour, and matches in the international<br />
Super Rugby series. The tourism body gave the public relations value of<br />
the rugby hosting as R18-million with an “economic spin-off in excess<br />
of R150-million”.<br />
The tourism industry generated R7.3-billion in 2016 in Nelson Mandela<br />
Bay according to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. Bed nights rose to 870<br />
596 from just over 644 000 the year before.<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Tourism has hit on the brand for the province as<br />
“Adventure Province <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>”. But such is the variety on offer for<br />
tourists in the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> that any number of sub-brands could be<br />
offered to cater to tourists with<br />
particular interests.<br />
In the last days of June every<br />
year, the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> hosts thousands<br />
of art aficionados because<br />
of the National Arts Festival. Held<br />
since 1974 in Grahamstown, the<br />
festival now attracts huge crowds<br />
(more than 240 000 in 2015) to<br />
watch more than 1 000 performances<br />
in every conceivable<br />
venue in the small university town.<br />
Nearby Port Elizabeth has several<br />
identities: Event City is one,<br />
Water Sports Capital of South<br />
Africa is another. In 2016 another<br />
title was claimed – Bottlenose<br />
Capital of the World. There are apparently<br />
30 000 dolphins in Algoa<br />
Bay, making it the biggest such<br />
concentration in the world. Nelson<br />
Mandela Bay Tourism is considering<br />
launching a Dolphin Festival<br />
to run during Marine Month in<br />
October.<br />
The province’s regions each<br />
have distinctive features and they<br />
are aptly branded on the provin-<br />
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2017</strong><br />
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