The Airports Company SA will spend R4.6bn on Gqeberha’s Dawid Stuurman International Airport for the rehabilitation of its runways.
A further R213m will be spent in the next three years to improve the access runway at the King Phalo Airport in East London.
This was announced by Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane during his state of the province address in Bhisho on Friday.
He said domestic tourism figures were solid, with an average of 6.7-million tourists having visited the province in the past five years.
“Let us continue to explore the gems of our province such as Mkhambathi, Tsitsikamma, Hogsback and others.
“We will vigorously market and promote our province to international tourists.
“Our Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency is already identifying potential markets in the continent, and Brics and G20 countries.”
He said to attract and retain international tourists, the province was diversifying its product offerings to include culture, sport and heritage.
“We will bid to host more sports events because they create jobs and business opportunities in the hospitality industry.
“We are calling on municipalities to ensure that sports facilities are adequately and regularly maintained to support grassroots sports development and tourism.”
Credit by NOMAZIMA NKOSI AND MICHAEL KIMBERLEY February 21, 2025.