SUMMER SECURITY: Safer, but not safe enough — Nelson Mandela Bay’s beachfront vandalism endangers festive tourism

Nelson Mandela Bay’s beachfront is safer than it was a year ago, with additional tourism safety officers, expanded CCTV coverage and improved lighting helping to turn the tide against crime. But persistent vandalism and theft of public infrastructure remain a concern as the metro prepares for the lucrative festive season.

Glenn Pappin, regional representative of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, said safety along the beachfront had improved significantly, although more security measures were still needed.

Beachfront a tad safer

The deployment of 17 tourism safety officers, increased camera coverage by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), and improvements to lighting and vegetation at Kings Beach had contributed to the progress.

“We’ve obviously seen a huge improvement in safety [along the beachfront]. Again, probably still not perfect. But obviously our 17 safety tourism officers are making a difference. We’ve got the MBDA that’s just increased the camera coverage on their side,” he said.

The municipality had also installed high-mast LED lighting in the area, improving visibility after dark.

However, Pappin warned that vandalism and theft of public infrastructure continued to undermine efforts to improve the beachfront.

He said the municipality needed to deploy an adequate number of security personnel to protect public assets and prevent further damage.

“The beachfront is definitely better than it was this time last year, but still not perfect,” he said.

The improvements come as tourism businesses prepare for the festive season, traditionally an important period for the local economy.

Winning back holidaymakers

Denise van Huyssteen, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, said the holiday period was expected to create opportunities for tourism and travel-related businesses to increase revenue, expand operations and generate employment.

She identified visitor safety, unreliable infrastructure and service delivery, poor road conditions, cleanliness, inadequate tourism marketing and a lack of coordinated tourism offerings as some of the challenges facing the metro.

Addressing these issues would require closer cooperation between the municipality, businesses and other stakeholders, she said.

The chamber’s 12 geographic business clusters provide a platform for businesses to raise local concerns and work with the municipality on interventions relating to safety, infrastructure, cleanliness and the broader business environment.

Van Huyssteen said the festive season is expected to create seasonal employment opportunities in Nelson Mandela Bay, particularly across the tourism, hospitality, retail, entertainment and transport sectors.

“More importantly, if we can sustain this momentum beyond the festive season and grow tourism as a year-round economic driver, these temporary opportunities have the potential to translate into permanent jobs.

“Through the Chamber’s Tourism Economic Development Desk, we want to support this growth by strengthening the tourism value chain, supporting emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses, and working with the Chamber’s Skills Development and Entrepreneurship desks to address skills gaps and improve business capacity,” Van Huyssteen said.

“Our objective is not simply to create seasonal jobs, but to build a stronger, more sustainable tourism economy that creates meaningful employment, particularly for our youth, and supports livelihoods throughout the Bay,” she added.

Families key to tourism recovery

Shaun van Eck of Discover Nelson Mandela Bay said the metro also needed to do more to attract families during the summer school holidays.

He said school holiday tourism figures had declined considerably between 2024 and 2025, making the family market an important priority.

“We need to re-establish the family holiday market as one of our key markets and reconnect with what they’re looking for,” he said.

Van Eck said tourism marketing increasingly depended on visitors sharing their experiences on social media. This made it important to provide holiday activities that families would want to experience and promote.

He pointed to Jeffreys Bay’s summer holiday programme as an example of what could be achieved, saying Nelson Mandela Bay needed to offer more free activities for families.

The summer holiday period was particularly important to the local tourism economy because conferences, major events and business travel generally declined during this time.

“We’ve got to make sure that we attract pure holidaymakers because that’s who’s available,” he said.

The World Lifesaving Championships, taking place at the beginning of December, would provide a welcome boost to the metro’s tourism sector, Van Eck said.

But he added that attracting visitors would require a broader effort to understand what families wanted from a holiday and to provide activities that met those expectations. DM