Tourism in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, is showing “organic, steady growth.”
This is according to Bassie Kamana, the Mayoral Committee Member (MMC) for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture (EDTA) in the City.
Speaking at a Tourism Month Close-Out event, in Kariega, on Tuesday this week, said “for many years, we watched industries like cruise tourism, pass us by, without making a meaningful impact. We made a conscious decision to develop a plan to enter that space, and today, we are seeing the results- an industry that brought in close to R100 million during the past cruise season.”
He also said one of the key highlights for the Metro this year, in addition to activities that drew thousands, was hosting the G20 Working Group Meeting, since February.
“The number of tourists visiting our city has already shown an increase this September, compared to the same period last year. We will continue to monitor this trend as we move into the summer season” said Kamana.
Stats SA figures published in April 2025, show various cities are receiving more international visitor due to the G20 meetings, such as Gauteng.
For the 2024/2025 period the province coined an estimated R41 billion from foreign visitor spending—exceeding a benchmark of R29 billion. This has come from 3.8 million overseas guests counted. Domestic tourism added R21 billion, taking the province’s total tourism score to R63 billion.
Picture of Bayworld, one of the main attractions in the Nelson Mandela Bay, with a natural and cultural history, combined with a Snake Park and Oceanarium.