|
The tourism industry is alive and well in the Hangklip-Kleinmond area if one looks at the attendance of the members mingle that was held last Thursday in the Alimento Restaurant in Kleinmond.
In total 44 Members turned up for the event, where they not only enjoyed good food and a wine tasting presented by Wildekrans Wine Estate, but also were briefed on two important projects that will affect tourism in the area.
Neville Green, Environmental Diversity Manager at Overstrand Municipality, talked about the upgrading of the facilities at the Stony Point Nature Reserve, which is not only one of the last strongholds of the African penguin, but has high heritage value with old Strandloper middens and the remains of an early twentieth century whaling station on the site and close links with a women run radar station during the Second World War to protect our coastline against U-boats.
Cliffie Krouse gave an update on the progress with arrangements for the Big Blues Music Festival that will take place in the Kleinmond Harbour on 28 February and 1 March 2014. He called on members of the community to become involved and said open meetings are held every first Wednesday of the month (4 December, 8 January and 5 February) at the Hangklip-Kleinmond Tourism Bureau to discuss ideas and plans for our area's biggest musical event annually.
HKTB Chairperson Clinton Lerm announced that the Bureau will move to new premises early next year which will be more visible and invited anyone interested in sharing space with the tourism bureau to contact them.
He also referred to the visitor statistics for October 2013, which indicated a slight decrease in numbers compared to October 2012 and can be ascribed to underlying economic influences. Clinton said there should be a greater focus on attracting visitors from the Cape Town area, especially now that foreign visitors are affected by the struggling economic situation in Europe and the USA.
Clinton told the members that within the Overstrand tourism ranks a new marketing opportunity opened up and that for an additional member's fee of R100 per year they will be allowed to place brochures at the other three tourism bureaux of the area – Hermanus, Stanford and Gansbaai.
Anyone interested in joining the Hangklip-Kleinmond Tourism Bureau or the Big Blues team, can contact bureau manager Celeste Scheepers or anyone of the other tourism officials at 028 271 5657 or visit them at the Tourism Bureau in Harbour Road, Kleinmond.
Photo captions
PHOTO 1 – CHAIR: Tania Meiring (Cape Nature), Lisel Krige (ward councillor of the Overstrand Municipality), Neville Green (guest speaker from Overstrand Municipality), Mary-Anne Lerm and her husband, Clinton Lerm (Chairperson of the HKTB Executive Committee).
PHOTO 2: Leen Jonker (Wildekrans Wine Estate), Anecia Olivier (HKTB) and Yolandi Prinsloo (HKTB).
|
