City Lodge Hotels Backs Public-Private Tourism Safety Initiative in Nelson Mandela Bay
City Lodge Hotels has backed a public-private tourism safety initiative in Nelson Mandela Bay, as 17 newly trained tourism safety officers are deployed across the city's key visitor nodes. The officers completed training under the Nelson Mandela Bay Coastal Tourism Policing Initiative - a partnership between the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), SAPS, Metro Police and local tourism stakeholders, with funding from the TOMSA Collaborative Fund and the MBDA. The programme covers peace officer functions, visitor assistance, incident response and law enforcement coordination.
City Lodge Hotels, which operates five properties in Gqeberha across all four of its brands, used the occasion to highlight tourism's broader economic significance, noting that the 2025 Ironman African Championship alone generated approximately R87.9 million in direct economic spend for the metro. With the Lifesaving World Championships scheduled for the city in November 2026, industry and government leaders stressed that sustained investment in destination safety is critical to maintaining Nelson Mandela Bay's competitiveness. The graduation forms part of the city's broader Tourism Safety Plan, which aims to improve security across tourism hotspots while supporting inclusive economic growth.
Source: City Lodge Hotels
