Amanzi Festival 2018 PORT ALFRED, EASTERN CAPE 30 MARCH 8 APRIL Introduction Port Alfred, heart of the Sunshine Coast, is conveniently situated midway between the metros of Port Elizabeth and East London, making travel to the destination is convenient by air or road. Well known for its pristine environment, glorious beaches and many natural attractions, Port Alfred is a seasonal holiday destination, peaking over the December period. Event organizers, Zweli Nkwinti and Dave Lawson teamed up with the main sponsors, Martin and Linda Bekker of the Royal St Andrews Hotel, sharing a dream to make Port Alfred a holiday destination of choice. With the growing phenomenon of sports tourism as a key activity, the Amanzi Festival was born, making use of the natural attractions of Port Alfred. In 2017, Amazing Events, the forerunner to the Amanzi Festival took place for the first time over the easter period. Encouraged by the response, a decision was taken to create a bigger and better festival with international participation, thus the 2018 Amanzi Festival was born. The event was a great success, benefiting local businesses, creating jobs and exposing the town as a destination to be reckoned with. In addition, visitor numbers over this period more than doubled compared to the previous year.
EVENTS: A brief summary of the various Amanzi Festival events are highlighted below. A full report from each of the organizers on the events will follow as an addendum to this report. 8km Trail Run: The Trail Run was a new addition to the Amanzi Festival and a great success. Starting at the Royal Port Alfred Golf Course and ending at the Royal St Andrews Hotel, this iconic event took in some of the most scenic routes in Port Alfred, including Kellys Blue Flag Beach, typical Eastern Cape bush and showcased the magnificent Royal Port Alfred Golf Course. The event attracted national athletes, and was managed by a member of the Kowie Striders, a local running club. Marina Mile Swim: The Marina Mile is an extremely challenging open water swimming event, commencing and ending at the Halyards Hotel, situated on the Royal Alfred Marina. Participation in this event grew by 20% from the previous event. 4 gold, silver and bronze medals each were handed out in the various categories.. The event showcased the scenic Small Boat Harbour, Royal Alfred Marina and iconic Kowie River. APB World Tour Body Boarding : One of the highlights of the Amanzi Festival, the Association of Professional Body Boarders Word Tour took place over several days, and included international competitors, including the world champion, Ian Campbell. The event was staged at scenic West Beach in Port Alfred and managed by Clinton Millard, previous world Body Boarding champion and coach for the Argentinian body boarders. Jet Ski Races: The Jet Ski Races was a first for Port Alfred and two heats were included in the line up. Day 1 took place off East Beach, providing thrills and spills and Day 2 included the famous Barnacles Challenge - commencing in the Kowie River, exiting through the mouth of the river and extending in a loop out to sea. The inclusion of this event was a highlight and provided excellent spectator value. The event was run prior to the rubber duck races.
Rubber Duck Races: The Rubber Duck Races were a great hit with visitors, providing excellent entertainment. The event took place over 2 days, with day 1 seeing racing through the breakers at East Beach in an ocean circuit. Day 2 included the thrilling Barnacles Challenge which saw rubber ducks thundering down the Kowie River, exiting a the mouth and completing a circuit out to sea. A highlight in terms of spectator value. Competitors from various provinces and areas within South Africa took part in this event. WSL Surfing: This World Surfing League competition attracted a number of international as well as national competitors and was managed by Accelerate Sports. The event took place at East Beach and highlighted the pristine beaches of Port Alfred, and excellent surfing conditions. The event attracted substantial prize money, enticing top participation, and was the final event in the Amanzi Festival line up. West Beach Activities: Nemato Change a Life organized activities at West Beach, showcasing local township talent with spectacular trampoling and fencing displays. These facilities were open to the public to enjoy. Flying Fish Beer Tent: For the duration of the festival, the Flying Fish Beer Tent provided refreshments and evening entertainment at West Beach. Music was provided by local DJ s.
Kiddies activities: A full programme of children s activities was arranged at Kiddies Beach, Port Alfred. The programme was conceptualized and managed by local adventure company, Outdoor Focus. The various events took place from 1 8 April and was well attended by locals and visitors alike.
SPONSORSHIP: An event of this magnitude would not be possible without sponsorship, including support of the local municipality and tourism bodies. The success of the event is with grateful thanks to: Royal St Andrews Hotel: The main sponsor of the event, and sharing a dream to stimulate tourism and the local economy in Port Alfred, co-owners Martin and Linda Bekker graciously sponsored R1 million prize money, making it possible to raise the level of the events to international status. In addition, the venue for the opening ceremony and surfing prize giving was sponsored by the Royal St Andrews Hotel. Talk of the Town: The local newspaper, and member of Tsio Black Star, was the media sponsor for the event, ensuring that the build up to the event gained wide spread media coverage, growing the numbers of visitors to the area over this period. News of the event was shared amongst Tso Black Star titles such as The Herald, Daily Despatch, Weekend Post and Sunday Times. Extensive social media, web and print coverage was given to the Amanzi Festival. In addition to providing media coverage, design of all promotional material was undertaken by the media house. East Cape Parks and Tourism Agency: The event was fully embraced by ECPTA, who provided sponsorship for the opening ceremony at the Royal St Andrews Hotel. ECPTA also provided support in terms of beach stewards to inform the public of local attractions and monitor beach activities. The value of support by ECPTA as the Eastern Cape tourism authority is significant to the success of the event. Ndlambe Local Municipality: The support of the local municipality was invaluable to the success of the event. The provided services including the clean up and beautification of the beach car parks, upgrading of ablution facilities necessary for an international event, traffic and water compliance services, waste management and much more. The event was adopted as the premier event of Ndlambe. Gijima: All promotional material and medals was generously provided by Gijima. This included 1000 promotional T-Shirts, Golf Shirts and caps for the LOC, medals for all the events, lanyards and badges, banners and printing of programmes. The value of the materials to support the event was invaluable and a very generous. SAB Flying Fish: A beer tent with supporting materials including fridges, bar counters, benches and chairs and product was supplied by SAB, providing an entertainment area for visitors on West Beach, and much needed after hours entertainment for participants, visitors and locals to mingle. Vodacom: Vodacom provided a sound truck in support of the Beer Tent, 2 jumping castles for kiddies entertainment and many prizes for participants in the event. This added enormous value to the overall event. Twizza: Soft drinks, a mobi-van and vending trailer, including banners were provided by Twizza for the duration of the event, adding value to the Amanzi Festival. Small Boat Harbour: The Small Boat Harbour provided public liability insurance for all the events held over the period, a vital supporting service. Sunshine Coast Tourism: the local tourism organizing provided an administrative and co-ordination function in support of the event, as well as promotion through social media platforms. Multi Security: Security throughout the festival was supplied by local security company Multi Security. ECONOMIC IMPACT: The economic impact of the Amanzi Festival on Port Alfred was significant. Visitor numbers grew substantially in comparison to the same period in previous years. Most self catering units were completely booked out, whilst B+B and Hotels saw a sharp increase in bed nights, with high occupancy levels. Local business benefited with a sharp increase in food and liquor sales. Local restaurants were extremely busy as were the two shopping malls. Job Creation: Many jobs opportunities were created over this period, including the employment of 6 beach stewards, car guards, extra security personnel, temporary staff at restaurants, hotels, and accommodation establishments and waste management teams.
LONG TERM TOURISM IMPACT: The value of an international festival of this nature has long term effects on the tourism industry. International as well as national coverage of the event ensured exposure of the Port Alfred, and indeed the Eastern Cape as a holiday destination. In addition, many first time visitors and participants attended the event, resulting in far reaching benefits. The event was centred around the scenic natural attractions and pristine coastal areas, adding tourism interest. IN SUMMARY: The event was a great success, and the forerunner to the next Amanzi Festival, scheduled for the 19 28 April 2019. The main sponsor, Royal St Andrews Hotel has committed to sponsorship of the event for the next 5 years, ensuring far reaching economic benefits for Port Alfred as a tourism destination of choice.