Cape Town - Tourism organisations and businesses on the West Coast are worried that overdevelopment and mining are posing threats making it harder to market the area to tourists.
Those who have ever travelled on the West Coast can’t help but be mesmerised by the many offerings, whether it is the quaintness of Mamre, the veld flowers of Darling, the awesomeness of the West Coast National Park, or the Greek-themed Club Mykonos in Langebaan, to name a few, and the many, many beaches to choose from.
At a recent get-together organised by marketing company West Coast Way at Thali Thali Game Lodge, several speakers spoke about the uniqueness of the area and how they have built businesses and created jobs.
West Coast Way is celebrating 10 years of marketing the West Coast and owner Carmen Lerm is excited about the next 10 years.
“The vision is to unify the West Coast into one brand experience for consumers. Even people on the West Coast, they see the different regions that the West Coast is made up of, for instance Swartland, the West Coast Peninsula or even Cederberg or the Berg route area.
“People see it as different areas and they don’t understand the importance of working as one unit together and offering it as one holistic experience. People are still thinking, borders. The consumer don’t think borders.
“That is why West Coast Way runs from Cape Town up to Garies and up to Nieuwoudtville, areas that actually fall outside your standard West Coast. That is the way people move when they go on holiday.
“And really, who are we trying to reach? Everyone within the West Coast that is in tourism, their target market in general is situated outside the West Coast. We are trying to attract people from up country, southern Africa, Africa, internationally, the UK, Germany, etc. We need to start working together,” she said.
Lerm said she wants to see this ‘working together’ done in a responsible, eco-friendly and sustainable way.
Such is the allure of the West Coast that all along the coastline, holiday homes and new housing development are springing up, with the inevitable shopping malls, restaurants, bars and entertainment spots.
While all of this is welcomed, Lerm is cautious about overdevelopment and the impact it could have on the uniqueness of the area.
“This is where the municipality plays a big role. Property development needs to be adjusted, because if it is uncontrolled growth, there is going to be nothing left that is unique or a stand-out experience. I agree there should be control over growth and development, because the pressure that it puts on the environment, that is not okay, and that is what everybody needs to take responsibility for.”
Another threat that could have a lasting impact on the West Coast, and decimate tourism, is mining, both near-shore mining and sea mining for diamonds, oil and gas and beach mining for scarce minerals.
Mike Schlebach from Protect the West Coast, said in the next 10 years there is a very real possibility that “we will see beach mining happening all the way from Langebaan to Elands Bay up to Alexander Bay”, with big oil rigs up and down the coast as well.
“We currently have 65 prospecting and mining applications, mostly starting from Elands Bay, all the way up. The Department of Minerals and Energy and the Department of the Environment seem hell-bent on approving these applications,” he said.