The tourism industry on the Garden Route is on a high after a surprisingly busy festive season despite the global economic meltdown.

The region‘s tourist traps were brisk and animal attractions were high on the list of things to do, with the Garden Route Game Lodge in Albertinia, Monkeyland in Plettenberg Bay and the Cango Wildlife Ranch in Oudtshoorn experiencing record visitor numbers in December.

Monkeyland reported an amazing 18,1 per cent increase in visitors compared with the year before, while visitor growth at the Cango Wildlife Ranch increased by 3% with an 11,5% rise in turnover.

Monkeyland chief Tony Blignaut said: "Gate income was up by 22,3% and curio sales were up a whopping 46,2%, which was partly due to the increased numbers of visitors and the fact that our new curio store opened in December."

At Cango Wildlife Ranch, operations director Rob Hall said visitor numbers for January were already ahead for the same period last year. "It‘s not bad considering the prevailing economic climate," Hall said.

Operators in the hospitality industry were mostly satisfied with the season, although there were signs of the economic pinch in that self-catering establishments apparently fared better than those which offer meals and serviced rooms.

Upmarket guesthouses such as Armadillo Studios in Knysna, The Albatross in Wilderness and Malvern Manor in George all recorded brisk business, but other guesthouses, from the top to the bottom end of the market, reported a slow season.

Mossel Bay Tourism head Marcia Holm said the town as a whole did well and South Africa‘s biggest self-catering resort, ATKV Hartenbos, was fully booked by December 5.

"It seems there were no beds available in town between Christmas and the New Year," she said.

As more visitors opted for self-catering holidays, supermarkets and take-away restaurants, such as Knysna SuperSpar and Nandos, reported higher sales figures. Hein Nortier, owner of Nandos in Knysna, said: "The season started slower, but from mid-December we were 15% up on sales and for the first eight days of January we are 16% better than last year." Tourism bureau chiefs were cautiously optimistic with the season‘s results.

George/Wilderness tourism head Joan Shaw said: "With all the forecast of doom and gloom, we are reasonably happy that the season turned out to be better than expected."

Bitou Tourism spokesman Ronelda Visser and Mossel Bay Tourism chairman Neels Zietsman attributed the season‘s success to vigorous marketing campaigns in their towns and Eden district municipality‘s collaborative effort under the marketing umbrella of the Cape Garden Route.

Zietsman said that with the uncertainty of the economy, which could still herald tough times ahead, tourism organisations needed to stand together and to increase, not decrease, marketing efforts in the coming months.

Rochelle de Kock writes that Nelson Mandela Bay tourism establishments are struggling to keep afloat following a drastic decline in bookings over the festive season, with some reporting a drop of nearly 70% compared with previous years.

Umzantsi Afrika Tours recorded only three long trip bookings since August last year. Manager Lyn Haller said the festive season had been "dreadful" for bookings.

Britton Tours also reported a severe drop in tour bookings compared with previous years. Its clientele is also predominantly international tourists.

However, the Summerstrand Hotel and Addo Elephant Park resort said business had been booming over the holiday season.

"We were up by almost 20% compared with the previous year," said Summerstrand Hotel marketing manager Marco Human.

The Addo Elephant Park resort had had a great season and had to turn away a few visitors because they were fully booked.

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism said the official statistics for the festive season would only be available next week.