GEORGE NEWS - The December season saw the usual influx of visitors into George, but they were here for a shorter period because of the shorter school holiday.
Despite this, several businesses that spoke to the George Herald reported satisfactory trade. According to Dr Dennis Farrell, chairman of the George Business Chamber, the impact of the Christmas season and also Easter weekend on George must not be underestimated.
"A lot of businesses are dependent for their survival on the so-called harvesting season, especially guesthouses and boutique restaurants."
Municipal manager Trevor Botha said this meant that overall figures in terms of traffic, law enforcement and fire responses dropped slightly in comparison to previous years.
Lower occupancy
Local accommodation providers had lower occupancy than last year, but they reported a good overall festive season, said tourism manager Joan Shaw.
Sandra Cook, secretary of the Outeniqua Tourism Association that represents backpackers, guest houses and hotels in the region, said during the year business was poor and in general, occupancy rates were down by between 20% and 30%. "Christmas was okay and better than last year, but nowhere near the previous years. We had a lot of last-minute bookings this year, which was unheard of previously when establishments started filling up from early in December. This year, everyone was eventually full, but the season was much shorter and from 1 January there was again a lot of availability."
Jonel Ackermann, who manages bookings for several hotels, said she had to "fight" for bookings. "2017 was a fluke as we got business from Knysna. This year the holiday was terribly short. Our season started on the 23rd and ended on the third. The Wilderness Hotel was down occupancy wise, but we received better reviews. The Fairy Knowe Hotel, which had cheaper rates, was chock and bloc. Whales Way Ocean Retreat was much, much quieter and Oakhurst Hotel was also quiet."
Ackermann said South African establishments must beware of pricing themselves out of the market and should rather focus on filling up at a good rate than not at all.
"The average stay overseas has dropped to between R600 and R700 per night, and I think we should do the same if we want locals to keep supporting us."
A hard day's work
Protea Hotel King George's rooms division deputy manager, Erika Labuschagne, said, "We worked ourselves into a coma. For us it was definitely an unbelievably busy season. We changed our strategy by booking big groups, which we usually don't do during the peak season. We were over 92% full from the 21st and had an average of 265 guests per day. The shorter school holiday had an impact as things quietened down from last Friday."
Oubaai, where the bulk of overseas visitors stay, exceeded its budget. "We were very busy and are happy with the season. It was on par with 2017," said sales director Monica Ryhlander.
Spend up at market
Outeniqua Family Market counted fewer cars, but the average spend per car was up by 11,7% compared with 2017. "We are satisfied that our turnover was up from the previous year and we are 1% over our budget," said owner Deon Mocke.
"I have a feeling that there were fewer people in George this year. Those coming to the market, came in bigger groups per car. In 2017 we counted an average of 3,3 people per vehicle and this Christmas it was 3,8 people per car. The first two Saturdays of the season were very poor, but it improved and just before and after Christmas we counted over 6 200 cars on the two Saturdays respectively."
Slightly more visitors for mall
The Garden Route Mall counted 10 000 more pairs of feet than in 2017. Centre manager Rion Olivier said this is a modest increase. "At least we are not down. We had just under 1 million feet." He said the influx of shoppers started only from 22 December, a week later than usual. "We are still waiting for tenants' turnover figures for December, but for November we were up 10% year-on-year."
Eden Meander figures up
Eden Meander manager Jacques Dreyer said their figures were up by 5% compared with the previous year.
"We are pleased, but we must take into account that we come from a lower basis than established businesses like at the Garden Route Mall. We had a mixed bag with the first week quieter than 2017. In the third week we were significantly busier than last year. All the tenants I spoke to had a better season this year. Sportsman's Warehouse and Outdoor Warehouse had a phenomenal month."
Sales at Kloppers exceeded expectations. "We had more feet through the shop than last year and our sales are up. A lot of locals and also many new residents moved after the school's year-end and now need to furnish homes," said manager Hein Botha.
George Parkrun 3rd globally
Parkrun director Douglas Stanley is very pleased that on 29 December, the George Parkrun clocked the third highest global attendance with 990 participants. "This was the most we ever had. An average of between 300 and 500 runners take part during the year." On the Saturday before Christmas, 885 runners pitched up.
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