East London courts business tourism

BUFFALO CITY is increasing its appeal as a destination for business conferences and incentive breaks, says Mervyn Gatcke, acting head of Buffalo City Tourism. “By October next year we will have a new conference and expo centre on the beach-front. It will be a mini international convention centre and will be operational well before the planned one for Port Elizabeth,” he says. According to Gatcke, East London is seeing a growing demand for conference space. “We are getting busier and busier. East London is the unofficial capital of the Eastern Cape and is a convenient meeting place for government and semi-government groups.” There are a number of major regional centres such as Queenstown, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth within a 300 kilometre radius of East London, making it a central meeting place. The metro offers a variety of accommodation and conference facilities. “East London offers a lot of accommodation. Visitors can expect to find somewhere to stay even if they arrive at short notice. There is invariably accommodation available in the outer suburbs whilst the central areas are quite full. ” The existing facilities will be increased by the opening of a new R500-million conference centre and 5 star hotel next to the Regent Hotel. This will be complemented by a R600- million development at Marina Glen on the beachfront. There is a need for additional flights and increased car hire capacity in the metro. Another opportunity lies in the opening of a fullyfledged tour operator in Buffalo City. This would help attract cruise ships to the East London harbour, he believes. “We really need tour operators for our area. The port is ideal for cruise ships and if we offer something special for the passengers, more liners will choose us as a destination,” he says. For incentive outings, Buffalo City promotes itself as “a rich blend of what it truly means to be in Africa. The contrasts of pacy modern cities and towns mixed with the languid pace of places where nature is the timekeeper.”