An aerial view of the Sibaya Precinct. One of the many projects the eThekwini Municipality is prioritising aided by the Presidential eThekwini Working Committee.
The establishment of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group (PeWG) has seen a gigantic leap of progress in various service delivery aspects, gradually boosted the business confidence, accelerated service delivery and continues to grow the city’s economy.
Working together, we have been able to stabilise the city, and we are beginning to see positive results, as demonstrated by the sharp increase in business confidence and the revitalisation of the tourism sector.
During the 2025 festive season, the city recorded approximately 1.2 million visitors, with accommodation occupancy increasing to 77%, up from 72% in 2024. Tourism spending during this period also rose from R2.2 billion to R2.7 billion, representing a 24% increase. The city was recently ranked 14th among the world’s best places to travel in 2026 by Time Out Worldwide, demonstrating that our tourism sector is firmly on an upward trajectory.
We attribute this sharp increase in visitor numbers to, among other factors, the opening of all 23 bathing beaches. This was made possible by the extensive work undertaken to repair and upgrade sanitation infrastructure across the city, improving licence compliance, capacity and effluent quality.
