Comrades ‘major boost’ for KZN economy
The
Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa says the Comrades Marathon
has given KZN's tourism and hospitality sector a major boost.
More than 22,000 runners took part in the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday.
Former security guard turned ultramarathon athlete, Tete Dijana, crossed the finish line first bagging his third Comrades win in a time of five hours and 25 minutes.
In the women's race, Gerda Steyn sealed her fourth victory in five hours and 51 minutes.
Brett Tungay, who is with hospitality association Fedhasa, says many hotels and B&Bs in both cities were fully booked with local and international guests.
"It's one of the events on the calendar every year that establishments rely on. Definitely the economic benefits [are] great for the province. It's one of the mainstays for us in the province."
READ: South Africa's Dijana, Steyn win Comrades race
In Pietermaritzburg, Madlula's Guesthouse is one of the businesses that hosted visitors from abroad.
The establishment's Ntokozo Nhlela says most of their reservations were made last year.
"Our guesthouse was fully booked with most of our visitors arriving on Thursday and checking out on Sunday. A large portion of our guests were marathon runners.
"We were delighted to host several international visitors, particularly from Ukraine. It was such a pleasure to welcome this level of global participation. While there were some language challenges since English wasn't a first language for many of our guests nor for us, we still managed to connect and communicate warmly with them."
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