Durban tourism is expected to receive a financial boost this weekend when more than 6 000 people arrive in the city for the Seventh Annual Welcoming of the Whales Festival.
The event, hosted by the Soul of South Durban Community Tourism Association (Sodurba), will take place on the Bluff on Saturday and on Sunday.
The festival aims to inform and educate visitors about marine awareness and conservation.
In a statement issued by eThekwini Municipality on Thursday, the City hailed the festival as a good effort to boost the Durban economy.
The event was expected to peak at the weekend when more people descend on the Bluff beaches to watch whales coming closer to shore.
The event’s first leg was last Sunday.
The City statement said: “Sodurba is the official tourism body for the Durban South area and is one of the nine community tourism organisations (CTOs) funded by eThekwini Municipality to promote tourism within their regions.”
The festival features various educational stands, an arts and crafts market, an eco train for kids, a rocky shore guided walk, free arts and crafts classes using recyclables, entertainment a food court and many other family fun activities.
Earlier this month, the Daily News spoke to the chairperson, Helga du Preez, regarding this festival’s importance.
She said that it was important as Durban shared a history with whales, after hunting them and nearly causing the demise of many baleen whale species, including the humpback and southern right whales.
She added that they were expecting more than 6 000 visitors – a number they achieved last year – and that it would be an action-packed day filled with an extremely busy programme.
Du Preez said: “The aim is to develop and promote responsible, exciting, creative and sustainable tourism for the benefit of all stakeholders and community collectively and boldly.”
She added that the story of the whales’ recovery from levels that were arguably close to extinction showed that conservation worked.
Considering the trend of declining global biodiversity, it should be celebrated as a symbol of hope for human survival, for the health of the oceans, and for the conservation of nature, she said.
Lloyd Edwards, from Raggy Charters in Algoa Bay, initiated the Southern Humpback Whale Migration route in 2018, which has grown to 26 events in southern Africa, including Kenya on the east coast, and Gabon on the west coast.
Raggy Charters, together with the World Cetacean Alliance and various partners, will be presenting a series of talks on sub-Saharan Africa.
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