Regional Tourism Development Manager for the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (CPTA), Nomonde Makaula, said they had hosted a workshop to capacitate Qunu Homestays at the Qunu Youth and Heritage Centre in Mthatha, last week.
She said the workshop was organised by the CPTA, in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Museum (NMM).
According to Makaula, it was a one-day event where the Traditional African Homestay Southern Africa (THASA) and Imonti Tours shared their interest in working with Qunu Homestays.
THASA is currently working with Homestays in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, and is now expanding its operations to the Eastern Cape.
“Qunu was specifically chosen due to its historical significance as the home of former president Nelson Mandela, and its association with the Mqhekezweni Great Place, which has recently been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), linked to the Liberation Route.”
Makaula added that by joining the free association, Homestays will be further trained on relevant industry training and be provided with industry compliance issues like Public Liability Insurance and mostly be linked with national and international tour operators.
“Qunu Homestays began operations in 2018, after receiving training from ECPTA and the NMM. However, the sector was severely impacted by COVID-19, resulting in very few operational homestays.
The collaboration with THASA came at an opportune moment, as the organisation will ensure that homestays are well capacitated, and most importantly there are visitors in the Qunu area, thus increasing occupancy in homestays.”
Makaula said the hope is to expand this initiative to other parts of the province that have homestays, such as the Wild Coast.
She said the mandate of ECPTA is to ensure the transformation of the industry, with a focus on benefiting communities, especially women and youth.
To achieve this, collaboration with the private sector and communities is vital.
The director of Nosinodi Homestays in Qunu, Nosinodi Mandela, said they were hopeless but after this workshop they felt that something new was going to happen.
“We are hoping that THASA will assist us so that our businesses can grow. They said they will help us with making bookings, because tourists pass our area but don’t know who they can talk to if they want something,” said Mandela.
She added that they (THASA) promised them they would also have insurance that would assist them as the owners, and also the tourists. She said if the tourist is injured he/she will be taken to hospital if there is a need to do so.
“We are lucky, because our area has the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela, and the tourists are always passing our area, meaning it will be easy for us to get more customers,” said Mandela.
