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The tourism sector of Drakenstein Municipality has left a lot to be desired in recent years, especially since the closure of the Drakenstein Local Tourism Association (DLTA) in 2022 after the municipality withdrew its funding.
Paarl Post previously covered its strategies to uplift tourism in the area, especially after the only tourism office had closed down.
However, as facts and feedback seem to indicate, there has been no real progress of these strategies.
One of the few attempts to draw tourism to the area was with the launch of the Paarl East Street Museum Heritage Route in October 2023, but this too, has died a quiet death.
Many businesses held their breath in the hopes of a more hands-on initiative that would bring Drakenstein Municipality’s tourism sector on par with other municipalities in the winelands, such as Stellenbosch or the Breede Valley.
READ: DM tourism sub-standard
At a recent event at the Plaisir Wine Estate in Simondium the municipality officially launched its long-awaited Winelands Sustainable Tourism Route.
But when Paarl Post reached out to the municipality for comment about this initiative it received a rather ambiguous reply from Seraj Johaar, Drakenstein Municipality’s Executive Director of Corporate and Planning Services.
“The Winelands Sustainable Tourism Route is a tourism product, which gives effect to the implementation of Drakenstein Municipality’s tourism priorities in its Integrated Development Plan (IDP),” he said.
“The municipality’s sustainability vision is to grow the area and build a city of excellence for its people, and to attract investment to stimulate development, economic growth and job creation, so that it can improve people’s lives, without compromising the quality of the environment for the future generations of Drakenstein.”
What is a Sustainable Tourism Route?
This, however, still begs the question, what is the Winelands Sustainable Tourism Route and how will it encourage tourism in the area?
Johaar further explained the tourism initiative “lists the development of sustainable tourism as a strategic pillar that underpins the municipality’s drive to establish the destination as a premier global sport, wellness and adventure-tourism destination.
“The sustainable tourism development projects, programmes and initiatives must align with the internationally recognised 17 sustainable-development goals and reflect interventions that address poverty alleviation, job creation and conserving the environment.”
Again, there are more questions than answers, for example:
- How will sustainability, which seems to be the essence of this tourism initiative, be encouraged?
- How will poverty and job creation be addressed?
- How will investors be enticed to the area?
According to the tourism flyer released by Drakenstein Municipality the Winelands Sustainable Tourism Route highlights E-Zee Bikes at the Old Tannery in Wellington, a fynbos tasting at South African Fynbos, residing in the Bartholomeus Klip accommodation close to Hermon, a game drive through the Bontebok Ridge Reserve on the foothills of the Bains Kloof mountains, wine tasting and lunch at Perdeberg, and Bosman Wines or supporting Lilly Loompa’s upcycled lifestyle store online or at the Le Bonheur Adventure Farm alongside Babylonstoren Road.
According to Janet Malherbe, a tour guide within the Drakenstein Municipality and beyond “politics has mostly been the main reason why tourism is lacking lustre in the Drakenstein area.”
She listed “inadequate funding, non-targeted marketing and not using the most capable and passionate people” as some of the reasons for the struggling tourism sector.
Malherbe said the Winelands Sustainable Tourism Route tourism initiative should be marketed directly to tour guides, local hotels, guest houses and members of Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA).
“If there is not enough focused visibility, no one will know about the new initiative,” she said.
Chambers did not attend
Paarl Post reached out to the Drakenstein Business Chamber who said that the chambers did not attend the launch because its “experience with municipal tourism has never yielded any positive results”.
“The summit, for those who attended, was vague about what the presenters actually wanted to achieve with it,” Dirk Breytenbach, chair of the business chambers told the paper.
“Tourism in Paarl has been horribly neglected over many years, and further local government initiatives are viewed with a great deal of scepticism by those who are serious about promoting and exploiting our town’s tourism, [and] job creation is the biggest loser while everyone is manoeuvring for a better position."
“Since the untimely passing of the DLTA no progress could be made with the tourism role that the municipality assumed in 2022,” Breytenbach said.
“The De Poort saga, which had to serve the interests of tourism, is now almost forgotten, having been spoilt in 2017 by the personal interests of people who pursued only their own interests.”
Breytenbach held that it should not be a municipal mandate to specifically promote the tourism sector, but will support any efforts by the municipality that aims to grow the tourism sector.
