With the Olympic Games taking place in Paris in 2024, the World Surf League (WSL) has announced that there will be a break in the 2024 Championship Tour (CT) in July and, as a result, there will be no Corona Open J-Bay event. With the cancellation of the event, Kouga’s tourism is expected to take a hard knock.
According to a statement released by the WSL on September 20, a break has been added to the schedule in July to allow time for qualified athletes to travel to Tahiti ahead of the Olympic Games, where the line-up will be closed for Olympic athletes to practise.
“With this break, the tour will not host an event in J-Bay or Surf Ranch this season. The CT event in Tahiti has been moved earlier to May to accommodate the Olympics, and will be the last opportunity to watch the world’s best surfers in competition at Teahupo’o ahead of the Games,” the statement read.
Despite the change in the town’s schedule for July, Freemantle is optimistic that with the cancellation of Open J-Bay which was meant to take place in July next year, they will be given the opportunity to look into other avenues to fill the “huge empty space for the month of July”.
“We pride ourselves in being a tourist destination, and we cannot sit back and let this opportunity slide. We are hopeful that we will be able to supplement the open space in July next year,” said Freemantle.
He further said that the KLTO will be meeting with various role players in town as they work on a plan for next year.
“I am optimistic that we will be able to fill the gaps and stage more events in the area,” said Freemantle.
He said that since the Kouga region is in an ideal location, based between Gqeberha and the Garden Route, they are positive that the town will get its fair share of tourists.
“The Kouga region has a great deal to offer. We are family-friendly, safe, inexpensive, and we have excellent weather,” said Freemantle.
