Just as Cape Town DA mayoral candidate Patricia de Lille wants the Indaba tourism tradeshow to move to her city, the DA’s Durban mayoral candidate, Ronnie Veeran, says he will fight to keep the showpiece in Surf City.
“Obviously I would want Indaba to be retained by Durban and would give the support needed to make this happen… Just as she (De Lille) supports the Stormers, I support the Sharks as a passionate Durbanite. I would want what is best for Durban,” he said in reaction to De Lille’s Indaba bid.
“However, competition is good; it must be a case of the best bidder winning. Both cities need to put their best foot forward. Competition will bring out the best in the bidding cities. It must be a case of may the best competitor win, whether it is Cape Town, Joburg or Durban,” he said.
However, Veeran said he did not support the idea of making Durban the permanent home of Indaba.
“We have the capacity and have proved ourselves, so why not keep it open to bidding every few years? It’s like giving too much power to one political party; you don’t want to foster complacency. When our cities compete, they can bring out the best in each other,” he said.
The four-day Indaba ended last week at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre.
Although the Indaba host contract is usually awarded in three-year stints, last year Durban was given a five-year contract lasting until 2015, when SA Tourism would make a new call for prospective bidding cities.
Durban, which has hosted Indaba 21 times in its 32-year history, is expected to face stiff competition from the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which is set to undergo a multibillion-rand expansion, doubling its size, come 2015.
However, with space available around the Durban ICC, there has been talk in the Thekwini council of possible expansion of the facility. This could include an upgrade of the neighbouring Durban Exhibition Centre and development of a hotel on the site. - The Mercury