Outgoing tourism chief says city an increasingly attractive host destination.

Outgoing Tourism Buffalo City (TBC) CEO Peter King believes sports tourism is a key area the city needs to develop if it hopes to grow its tourism industry.

"The city has a competitive edge in sports tourism," said King.

"We've got some excellent facilities, which are comparable to anything else in the country, and I'm convinced sport is one of the pillars of a long-term growth strategy."

King said that in recent years East London was becoming an increasingly attractive host destination for sporting events of all kinds.

"The Joan Harrison is one of the best facilities of its kind, and the fact that you can stay in a B&B not 15 minutes away from all the major facilities means we're a very attractive destination."

King, who recently announced he would be leaving TBC at the end of September, said that during his tenure the organisation had put a lot of work into rebranding the Buffalo City name.

"We've been to shows and expos all over the country and have also partnered with the ECDC (Eastern Cape Development Corporation) in getting international exposure," he said.

"The bread and butter of Buffalo City tourism is local tourists, though. In the absence of hard data, I'd say (local tourism) makes up between 80 and 90 percent of our market so our efforts are focused on developing this sector."

But King said while things were improving, Buffalo City still faced many challenges in getting visitors to come to the city. "When I joined our budget was R1.9 million compared to Nelson Mandela Metropole's (NMM) budget of above R10m.

"We managed to get it increased to R5.1m, but it's still not really enough to take on the big boys when you consider NMM's budget is now R15m.

"It's very difficult for us to compete in the same market as they do."

King said work also needed to be done on changing the negative perception many people had of the Border region.

"I did my utmost to rebuild (TBC) so that it has its own identity and can stand alone."

King said many people did not realise that TBC was a Section 21 company independent of the municipality. "Although I was seconded by the municipality to head up TBC, we're an independent company with a board of directors," he said. "Our mandate is to promote and market the tourist attractions of the Buffalo City region."

King said one of the successes of his time with TBC was growing the membership base of product owners by more than 100 percent.

"When I joined, our database of products was not much more than 100. Now we have over 330 accommodation establishments with which we communicate regularly," he said.

"We also have all the major hotels on board for the first time, which has been very welcome."

As for the future and what it holds, King is undecided at the moment.

"My contract was due to run until next year September, but I feel I achieved what I set out to for TBC and now it's time to call it a day. I'm going to pursue other opportunities."