THE FISH RIVER Sun is proving to be a hit with holiday-makers. Half of the available time-share modules were sold in six months, according to Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World general manager Graham Vass. The Boardwalk is owned by Emfuleni Resorts, which also controls the Fish River and Mpekweni Sun resorts. Sun International South Africa (SISA) manages the properties on behalf of Emfuleni. In terms of its gaming licence, The Boardwalk is required to cross-subsidise and support the two resorts outside Port Alfred. Both were affected when Fish River Sun lost its gaming licences nearly four years ago when the new provincial licence system was introduced. Last year the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board granted permission for the Fish River Sun hotel to be converted into timeshare units. “We are very happy with the way sales of the timeshare have gone. One of our main motivations for the changes to the hotel was that the market demands more affordable, self-catering timeshare units rather than traditional hotel accommodation,” says Vass. A total of 1139 Fish River Sun modules were sold by Brian Stocks Properties between June 1 and the end of December last year, according to Vass. Both the Fish River and Mpekweni Suns have become favourite conference destinations for both corporates and government agencies. “Free sales” of rooms not being used by timeshare guests at the Fish River were boosted during October and November last year by a number of conferences. Conferences helped push Mpekweni’s occupancy up to 48 per cent in October and November last year, compared to 31 per cent during the same months in 2001. Room bookings are up in the first quarter of this year due to the World Cup Cricket games being played in East London and Port Elizabeth. Mpekweni is leased by Sun International From the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) under a long-standing agreement. The improvement in occupancies at the two Eastern Cape resorts is reflected in the overall Sun International South Africa (SISA) results for the six months ended 31 December 2002. According to the results, which were released on Monday (Feb 24), better economic conditions, taken together with South Africa’s tourism growth overall, contributed to an increase in group revenues by 23 per cent to R1.92-billion. SISA Managing Director Peter Bacon said: “the group has benefited considerably from the upturn in South Africa’s tourism and leisure sector. In particular, South Africa’s image abroad is much improved, with Cape Town, for example, increasingly becoming a global destination of choice. Average group occupancy, reflecting buoyancy in the tourism sector, rose by 11 per cent to 76 per cent for the period, with Sun City at 78 per cent and the Table Bay at 71 per cent. The average room rate was 24 per cent ahead of last year.” Looking ahead, Bacon said that forward bookings were strong and the economic outlook much improved. He cautioned that a conflict in the Middle East could have an adverse impact on foreign tourism, but that of more concern from a South African perspective was the slowdown in economic growth of certain primary markets, particularly Germany, and also the United Kingdom and the US.