African partygoers flood Grahamstown Arts Festival

BLACK South Africans and partygoers from the rest of the continent accounted for an estimated 50% of accommodation bookings at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year. The boom, festival organisers believe, is the result of a conscious marketing campaign to "Africanise" the event. Official ticket sales figures will only be released later this month, but festival organiser Lynette Marais said preliminary figures appeared to indicate an increase in visitors. Grahamstown estate agent Doug Read confirmed the boom, saying he'd had his "best festival ever" with accommodation bookings up by 25%. Makana Municipal Tourism director William Makkink said 5 000 festinos occupied beds in Rhodes University residences, 671 formal beds in hotels and bed and breakfasts, 600 ‘informal’ beds, and about 120 houses were rented out. He said his office took "thousands" of bookings from African art lovers who travelled to the small Eastern Cape town from north of South Africa's borders. (African Eye News Service)