MOSSEL BAY NEWS - You can expect an extra-long holiday season in Mossel Bay as holidaymakers are arriving early this season and more visitors than usual are expected in the New Year because learners only start school on 18 January compared with 11 January in 2017.

Mossel Bay basked in idyllic sunshine this week.

It is the self-catering resorts and some caravan parks that are reporting a higher than expected occupancy rate.

The phone lines were continually engaged at the ATKV Hartenbos resort on Wednesday and Thursday this week, with people looking for accommodation or wanting to adjust bookings.

Resort manager Mornay Beukes admitted: "It's been crazy here. Our online booking system is only scheduled to be up and running next year, so people still have to book via phone or email."

He said the resort was breaking records in terms of early arrivals for the holiday season. "For the first time we have 260 parties or families arriving this weekend (2 December). We usually do not get so many people so early. The season has not even started yet.

"On the weekend of 16 December we are expecting 380 groups and on the weekend of 2 January, 250 groups. When the Gauteng visitors leave, this is when the Capetonians arrive in January."

De Bakke Santos resort general manager Chris Viljoen said: "We have more bookings than usual after 3 January, because the schools open later in 2018 than this year. We were already fully booked by March this year for the festive season and we had a waiting list of 180. "There were some cancellations and now we have a few more early season bookings and more late season bookings than usual."

It's business as usual at the Point Caravan Park. Municipal director: community services Elize Nel said: "The park is fully booked from 17 December to 9 January. From 1 December to 7 December it is still quiet. From 8 to 16 December it is about 60% full. From 7 January onwards we have about 20% of the stands booked so far. Although the holiday is longer, for us the trend is about the same as the previous year."

Attie Roos, acting Mossel Bay Tourism Office chief, is especially acquainted with the guesthouse, B&B and self-catering sector and spoke specifically on this: "In my experience, at this point of our summer, quite a number of the establishments are fully booked. In fact, many of these establishments are already fully booked for the 10 December to 5 January time span, from about February of a given year."

The Mossel Bay Advertiser asked Roos if he thought Kwêla Town of the Year status was benefitting Mossel Bay in terms of more visitors to the town. "At this juncture there are still several establishments not fully booked for the December-January period. It appears visitors heading for the Town of the Year are somewhat lethargic compared to the previous year. One would have thought the Kwêla award would have influenced earlier bookings positively but, on the other hand, one can't expect direct results so soon after our fantastic achievement.

"I am, however, confident our town will soon be reaping the benefits from our earlier success (Kwêla accolade) this year, in more than only the hospitality industry."

Two prominent Mossel Bay hotels reported having had a successful year with occupancy.

Garden Court Hotel general manager Yolandi Potgieter said: "I have definitely seen a positive impact on our occupancy since we won the Kwêla Town of the Year title, especially over the winter period and July holidays, which are traditionally quiet times. We had many more families visiting us then, which caused our occupancy to increase by 10% compared to the previous year. "For the December-January season, as usual, we are already fully booked.

"We are also finding Mossel Bay is becoming more and more popular for conferences. Being part of Tsogo Sun (the largest hotel group in Africa), we are fortunate our brand has an excellent reputation." The Protea Hotel by Marriott general manager Ronel Theron said: "I would not say the Kwêla Town of the Year publicity has made a major impact for us." She said it was more the hotel's recent inclusion in the Marriott international group, that had had positive results."

The hotel was now attracting more international trade during the year.

Theron said, "For the festive season, however, our bookings are the same as last year. In the first period of December we are not too busy, but we are fully booked from 20 December to 5 January."

Matriculants from Kuruman enjoying Mossel Bay on Wednesday, 29 November.

Tom Hollamby from Cardiff, Wales; Stan van Gisbergen from Holland; and Mossel Bay local William Leadbetter setting off on the St Blaize trail from the Point this week.

ARTICLE & PHOTOS: LINDA SPARG, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER SUB EDITOR

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