SPECIAL FEATURE Other popular events in Port Elizabeth include the Herald Cycle Tour and the Ocean Racing Series (a world championship). Buffalo City has its own IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon. In 2018 the 11th running of the event was held in the last week of January, and East London is home to several other popular cycling and running events.
Events The FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa in 2010 created a surge in the number of foreign visitors to the country. The Eastern Cape hosted 260 000 foreign visitors in that year and the province became a favoured destination for international travel agents. In 2017 foreign visitor numbers ticked upwards close to the 2010 peak, and a focus on events is one of the reasons for this trend. Grahamstown hosts the National Arts Festival every year, an 11-day extravaganza of performance art, music of every sort, art exhibitions, film, lectures, craft fairs and workshops. More than 240 000 people attended the 2015 festival and a study has put the economic impact of the festival at R349.9-million. Port Elizabeth hosts matches in the international Super Rugby series. The provincial tourism body calculates the public relations value of the rugby hosting as R18-million with an “economic spin off in excess of R150-million”. Port Elizabeth maintained its reputation for “firsts” when it hosted South Africa’s first-ever day-night cricket Test match in 2017. With brand-new lighting of the latest design, St George’s Park cricket ground was illuminated to the highest international standards. The innovative lighting system will now give events organisers options that never existed before in terms of lighting shows and coordinated lighting programmes that can be tuned to musicians’ needs. Another major feather in Port Elizabeth’s cap is the decision by the international 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to designate official qualifier status to an event to be held on the first two days of September 2008. Hobie Beach will be the main focus of the event, as it is for the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship which has been held since 2015. The city held its first IRONMAN event as far back as 2004. Enthusiastic crowds of up to 80 000 have been known to line the route and the event will undoubtedly be a fillip for the local economy. More than 6 000 athletes are expected to participate.
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2018
ONLINE RESOURCES Apple Express: www.appleexpresstrain.co.za Buffalo City Tourism: www.bctourism.co.za Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board: www.ecgbb.co.za Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency: www.visiteasterncape.co.za Mandela Bay Development Agency: www.mbda.co.za National Arts Festival: www.nafest.co.za Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism: www.nmbt.co.za
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