Port Elizabeth and East London are proving to be a hit with passengers aboard the cruise liners which have begun calling on the two Eastern Cape cities in record numbers. “People like PE. That’s the feedback we’re getting from the passengers, the captains and everyone else involved in the liners,” says acting Ectour ceo Salome Clack. This is good news for Port Elizabeth and tourism in the Eastern Cape as four more visits have been added to the already busy schedule between January and March this year. “For possibly the first time ever, Port Elizabeth will be visited 13 times in the space of three months,” says Mrs Clack. “This is proof that Port Elizabeth is firmly on the map as a destination of choice for some of the world’s most discerning travellers,” she says. Ectour is working closely with the Port Authority and Tourism Port Elizabeth to encourage the tourists to come back to the Eastern Cape on their next holiday. “It is a wonderful opportunity for us to promote tourism to the greater Nelson Mandela Metro and the province as a whole,” she adds. Favourites with the visitors have been the Eastern Cape’s game reserves, while The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World is also proving to be a draw card. More than 400 passengers aboard the first two ships to call visited The Boardwalk, which has laid on special transport from the harbour. Retailers at The Boardwalk have opened early to accommodate the visitors, and the foreign exchange centre is also opening early and closing late. Traders in East London have also made special arrangements on the quayside for the visitors. Ectour, which was founded and is funded by The Boardwalk, is actively market the experiences, sights and wildlife of the Eastern Cape. Displays are set up in a special marquee erected by the Port Authority for the tourists, and a visitor reception area has been opened in the as’Capism.com offices on the beach-front entrance to The Boardwalk. The foreign holiday-makers are impressed with what they see. “Many of the passengers tell us they are definitely coming back to the Eastern Cape,” says Clack. There will be six calls on Port Elizabeth by cruise liners during January, followed by four in February and three in March. Many of the cruise liners are also calling on East London, where an additional attraction is the city’s championship golf course. Additional ships which have not included Port Elizabeth in their itinerary are calling on East London.