Durban Tourism asks for R8-million in funding

Durban Tourism is hoping that the eThekwini council will approve its R8-million funding request to market tourism in a joint venture with the Johannesburg and Cape Town councils.

The Mercury quotes Durban Tourism's chief executive Phillip Sithole as saying the project is being undertaken jointly by tourism divisions in each of the three cities.

Each of the councils will have to request funding of R8-million from the council so that the joint venture will have R24-million for the marketing drive. Sithole says that if they are successful the SA Tourism will provide a further R8-million given the organisations a total of R32-million to market South Africa's three biggest cities.

International tourism marketing expert Ian Macfarlane has joined the Durban venture as a consultant. He is the former head of marketing for Tourism Australia and the chief executive of Gold Coast Tourism.

South Africa's tourism market has come under increasing pressure in the wake of the global economic crisis with tourists from Europe, Britain and America preferring to stay home or go on short-haul holidays rather than travelling to South Africa.

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