Eastern Cape Tourism has little in the way of a formal tourism body that is effective in presenting this fantastic area for what it really offers.
Years of political wrangling , corruption , nepotism and the usual political outfalls that plague most government funded entities in this country , have effectively robbed this fantastic area of its potential to be a tourism hot spot.
Firstly the wrapper or packaging that we present a tourist with on their first encounter to East London as a city is certainly not an attractive one . The beachfront is a disgrace with litter , filth , and high crime along the most visible and otherwise scenic patch between Eastern Beach and Nahoon.
The city center itself is a bit of a no go area , and although the architecture is phenomenal , the overall management of our city is failing to present these wonderful architectural buildings to any visitor.
That being said , then why should you come and visit this region as a tourist ? This question is the one that Eastern Cape Tourism should be answering in any campaign they try and present to prospective tourists to the East London region.
It is not easy to try and sweeten that initial bad taste left once a tourist has been fed the first impressions of our city . As a guest house we at Riversway ( www.riversway.co.za) are often tasked with settling first time visitors into a relative comfort zone after the harrowing entrance offered by a trip to Nahoon via town and our " beachfront" area.
I always use the comparison of a visit to a tropical third world island like Mauritius. The drive to the resorts is often harrowing and leads through what we would even consider squalor and poverty akin to a squatter camp or informal settlement ( possibly just a bit cleaner )
Once the tourist is exposed to the likes of Nahoon Nature reserve area , East Coast resorts beaches and the serenity of Hogsback and Stutterheim forest areas , and this list is too long to mention each gem available to the tourist who looks a bit deeper under our ugly skin, soon the light goes on.
It is however each tourist related business operators duty to expose their visitor to these wonderful tourism assets we have , especially with the dismal job E Cape tourism are doing in unpacking these wonderful assets in the presentation and marketing they offer.
So please be sure to present the layers of our poorly packaged treat to all your visitors and go the extra mile to help make this a tourism hotspot for all visitors to East London tourism area.
Book a stay at Riversway www.riversway.co.za and let us unwrap this treat for you.
