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Through My Eyes

Through My Eyes

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2014-09-19
Last week marked the launch of Tourism Month with various activities lined up throughout the week. It has been busy but also it has been inspirational. The Tourism industry in KZN employs hundreds of thousands of people - directly or indirectly - and is a catalyst for job creation and sustainable development.

Whether we know it or not, we are all involved in the tourism industry even if we are just saying a friendly "Hello" to the visitors on our morning promenade stroll.

So while we acknowledge potential tourist attractions, applaud existing travel allures, and encourage growth in that sector. We have to own the idea that tourism is everybody's business, and we are all ambassadors for our destination.

Ballito's Mo-Zam-Bik restaurant owner Brett Michielin is a great example of a tourism pioneer. Brett has created a venue that is geared at the tourist while it serves the locals. It's consistently good that is why it has gained respect from the community.

Mo-Zam-Bik restaurant was the venue for local businesswoman, Sabrina Errico's 40th birthday celebration. The function venue was dressed with pink Boa feathers, crystal chandeliers complete with Playboy Bunnies. The theme was "In Your Porn Star Best" - and there were some outrageous interpretations that produced lots of laughs.

Brett's place was filled to the rafters. Out of season and he is still smiling. Familiar faces smiled from the colourful plates of authentic dishes, somewhere in the corner I heard someone speaking German, somewhere else an elderly couple was talking about how much they loathe going back home to Gauteng.

Whether you're an estate agent providing service to potential residential or commercial buyers, a restaurant owner, offering honest, hearty menu or petrol attendant, your service reflects on our potential to be an exceptional tourist destination. We are all in it together.

No matter which service you provide, your input is paramount in our collective success story. We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. We have fully functional infrastructure and we are unique in our heritage and culture from the rest of South Africa.

We do indeed have so much to be grateful for.

Tourism Month encourages us to rediscover the wonders of KwaZulu Natal, to return to places that are alive with the heritage and maybe close to our hearts and relax in the many intimate hotels lodges and guesthouses in our province. It encourages us to recharge our batteries in the tranquil nature that is abundant in KZN.

KZN MEC Department of Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu, was speaking at the Lilizela Tourism Awards at eBandla hotel in Umhlali saying, "Transformation isn't only about success stories and sharing them so that they generate interest, it's about the impact they make."