OVERVIEW Tourism SKYE
OVERVIEW Tourism SKYE Hotels and Apartments have great views of Umhlanga. Since 2009, the entrepreneurs who run what is now Coastlands Hotels and Resorts have been investing in property. When the iconic Royal Hotel was added to hotels in Musgrave and Umhlanga in 2015, the portfolio expanded to three properties. The year 2024 sees a dramatic increase in the number of rooms available within the group with the launch in the Ringside Precinct of Umhlanga of the SKYE Hotel and SKYE Apartments, pictured. The Apartments component has three penthouses while the hotel has 118 all-suite rooms. When the Elangeni Hotel opened in Durban in 1971 it immediately became a symbol of the province’s leisure industry. In 2012 the hotel was joined to its neighbour, the Maharani, which created a 734-room super-hotel with 11 restaurants and bars. Southern Sun, the current operator of the Elangeni & Maharani Hotel, was the only bidder in March 2024 for the lease for the land which expires in 2025. Southern Sun runs 13 establishments in KwaZulu-Natal, with Durban (five) and Umhlanga (four), making up the majority. Hotels are located at each of Tsogo Sun’s three casinos in the province, with two at Suncoast Casino Hotels & Entertainment in Durban. The other two are in Newcastle (Blackrock Hotel) and Pietermaritzburg (Golden Horse Hotel). Premier Hotels & Resorts has nine properties in the province, including two recently built in Umhlanga on land bought during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group has also restored the Cutty Sark in Scottburgh. The Himeville Arms is located in the tiny village of the same name and a short distance from another Premier property, the Premier Resort Sani Pass. Both could be said to be catering to the Drakensberg traveller. The International Hotel School in Westville is part of the international group, Sommet Education. Turkish Airlines has returned to King Shaka International Airport. Two of the airline’s Istanbul-Johannesburg flights now extend to Durban on Thursdays and Saturdays and it has plans to increase these to four weekly flights. ONLINE RESOURCES Durban International Convention Centre: www.icc.co.za Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife: www.kznwildlife.com Tourism KwaZulu-Natal: www.zulu.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT The lease on an iconic beachfront site expires in 2025. A new direct flight from Durban to Harare in Zimbabwe has been launched by Airlink. These new flights are in addition to Emirates flying five flights a week from Durban directly to Dubai and the four weekly direct flights that Qatar Airways offers. The project to improve regional airports is continuing. Upgrades at Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle and Richards Bay have been authorised and terminals at Margate and Mkuze, where R72-million was spent, have been completed. Located in the far north of the province, Mkuze holds great potential for the distribution of agricultural produce into the SADC market and for tourism, given its proximity to several private reserves and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. ■ KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2024/25 38 PHOTO: Coastlands Hotels and Resorts
Film OVERVIEW Dirt will compete with Where’s the Chicken? Close to 500 submissions were received by the 45th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) for the 2024 student film programme. From the 478 local and international entries, 21 films were selected to premiere at DIFF and compete for the Best Student Film and Best South African Student Film awards. Six of the selected films are by South African students, Cloud Line, Dirt, Fisantekraal, Rebooting Memory, Warm and Where’s the Chicken? Among the many programmes on offer during the DIFF, two of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading cultural professionals will lead masterclasses for a revitalised isiZulu Scriptwriting Masterclass. The focus of the Isiphethu Programme for emerging filmmakers in 2024 is music, marketing, sales and distribution. The Isiphethu International Student Film Festival is open to filmmakers at tertiary institutions. The Durban International Film festival is presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The first edition of the Durban International Film Festival was held in 1979 and its reputation has been building ever since. In 2023, 3 000 films from 137 countries were viewed over 10 days. A number of prizes are on offer, including Best Feature Film, Best African Feature Film, Best South African Feature Film and Best Documentary. The Durban Film Office (DFO) has three development programmes targeting filmmakers at different levels in the industry: the Micro Budget Film Fund, Development Fund Grant and the Festivals and Markets Support Grant. Together, these programmes aim to support intermediate and experienced producers and local emerging filmmakers based in Durban. Also, to provide opportunities for skills development and market access, expose local talent to international audiences and to promote local films. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, the DFO has played a pivotal role in positioning Durban as a globally competitive film city. The KZN Film Industry Transformation Initiative (FITI) is another strategy to support previously disadvantaged and emerging filmmakers. Administered by the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, the one-year FITI aims to increase skills levels with a view to individuals being able to advance to senior positions within the industry. ONLINE RESOURCES Dube TradePort: www.dubetradeport.co.za SmartExchange: www.smartxchange.co.za South African Vanguard of Technology: www.savant.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT The Durban Film Office has three development programmes. The Durban FilmMart Institute hosts an annual Durban FilmMart that in 2023 attracted 1 018 delegates from 43 countries. The four-day industry event is a finance and co-production market designed to create partnerships and further the development and production of African cinema. In 2023 it was held under the title of “African Constellations” and featured 28 official projects, seven partner projects and 44 industry sessions. Primary funding is received from the Durban Film Office and the eThekwini Municipality. ■ PHOTO: DIFF 39 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2024/25
