One year from now, Club Med will unveil its first resort in South Africa, the Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari at Tinley Manor, North of Durban. And Club Med’s local MD believes that the resort will make a significant contribution to international tourist numbers visiting KZN.
“This Club Med resort is 20 years in the making,” Club Med Southern Africa MD Olivier Perillat-Piratoine said during a media tour of the property on September 19.
“It will offer something new to our loyal return guests and to new guests, and showcase South Africa.”
The new Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari will accommodate guests in 400 suites and 11 exclusive villas spread across 32 hectares of nature, a mix of dunes, coastal forests and pristine beaches.
Additionally, the property will house a conference hall accommodating up to 450 people, and five meeting rooms.
“South Africa is a very seasonal market and guests will largely visit the resort in summer. For the remainder of the year, we want to attract the corporate market,” said Perillat-Piratoine.
“We have received a lot of attention on this offering and already have a waiting list, as this will be the third big conferencing venue outside of a city centre in the country, following Sun City and Champagne Castle Hotel.”
Air Access
Perillat-Piratoine explained that, while the hotel will largely serve international arrivals, the South African market is still expected to supply a sizeable chunk of the Club Med’s guests.
“Only four percent of international tourists spend time in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Humbly but confidently, Club Med is going to improve on this number,” he said.
These international guests are expected to come from Western Europe, from France, UK and Germany, and from North America, Brazil, Australia and some from Asia.
However, Durban has faced consistent challenges with limited direct international air access, as reported by Travel News.
“We have been in contact with entire ecosystem around air access, including the airport authorities and airlines. At this stage, there is no project to gain direct access from any of the European carriers, but I’m sure this is something that we can achieve in the medium to long term as this Club Med is going to welcome tens of thousands of internationals at some stage. This demand is going to create the value for airlines,” said Perillat-Piratoine.
Water quality
Durban has also encountered challenges with waterborne polution at its beaches, posing a health risk to beachgoers, as reported by Travel News.
“It’s true that there have been some challenges with water quality. But there has been a tremendous improvement with the local municipalities’ initiatives to address this, so hopefully, it is a problem of the past. This part of the coastline has also never been impacted by water pollution,” he said.
In fact, Perillat-Piratoine revealed that the resort is planning to gain a Blue Flag status for its beachfront.
“This is something we are working towards to reassure our customers of the water quality and safety. There are also plenty of swimming pools around the resort and there will be a two hectare dam with filtered water, so there are plenty of opportunities for people to swim, if they don’t feel confident about swimming in the beautiful sea,” said Perillat-Piratoine.
