By Nangamso Mabindla
9 May 2005

LOCAL and international delegates were impressed with the Buffalo City stand at the Tourism Indaba in Durban. This is the word from Darby Gounden, the acting head of Tourism Buffalo City.

"Our stand was well received by delegates. Some have said it was very friendly and welcoming," she said. The indaba also provided the City with an opportunity to show off its new birding brochure. One of the highlights was the way the city's hotels and bed and breakfasts were received.

People visiting the Buffalo City stand were especially impressed with the Blue Lagoon Hotel in Beacon Bay. Peter Gregersen, the hotel's general manager, said it was surprising to see people coming to the stand and saying good things about the city. "Normally at these occasions we come to meet people and do not expect them to want to buy. But to our surprise people came to our stand to buy products from us and were highly impressed with what we had to offer," he said.

Other hotels on show are the Gonubie Resort and Mngqesha Great Place outside King William's Town. Gregersen said tour operators from the United States, France and Germany visited the stand. Some were impressed to find out that the city was a gateway to some top tourist attractions in the Eastern Cape.

"We are a gateway to the Wild Coast, the Nelson Mandela Museum and we have five of the biggest game resorts in the country," Gregersen said. However, before people could buy into the products, the city first needed to sell the province, then the region and then the products.

The city's accommodation facilities were a big hit: the Quarry Lake Inn won the AA award in the hotel guest house category and Oakhampton won an award in the bed breakfast homestay category. Darby Gounden congratulated the two, saying they put the city on the map.

Another highlight at the indaba was the launch of the new Buffalo City Tourism brochure. "It is very beautiful and delegates were highly impressed with our new brochure. These are really exciting times for tourism in the city," Gounden said.