Excellent occupancy levels and not one drowning at a Dolphin Coast beach provided the platform that gave Ballito the best Easter season in the last two years.

"These two factors gave hoteliers a better room rate than experienced since April 2009. In fact every beachfront hotel along the coast from Fairmont in the south to the Salt Rock Hotel in the north was full to capacity," said Ilembe Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism chief executive officer (CEO) Trenley Tilbrook.

And in another ground-breaking development King Shaka International Airport announced this week that it is to get direct air routes to London and across Africa, including the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The deal between DubeTradePort and Comair will be of huge benefit to Ballito, which is strategically situated about 10 minutes from the airport, said Tilbrook.

Hotel Izulu Managing Director Grant Pringle said the news was exciting because it meant that there is going to be competition between Air Emirates which is mostly used by UK tourists who do not want to go through Heathrow.

Pringle said having the direct flight into King Shaka would mean more numbers of UK tourists into Ballito and a shorter flight time - cutting out the extra time spent changing flights to Durban from Johannesburg.

Similarly, high levels of occupancy were also experienced in the self-catering, Bed and Breakfast establishments and those further inland.

"These levels must be taken in context. Ballito has six new hotels that have gone up in the past two years adding an estimated 600 new rooms to the pot excluding all the new holidays homes that have been built in the various estates," he said.

Ballito is situated on the primary growth corridor of the country and forecasts are that what was once a small seaside village will soon turn into a little city in the next five to 10 years.

Turning his attention to the one of the best assets of the area, the glorious beaches, Tilbrook said there was an estimated 23 100 people who made the best of the sand, sun and surf - but not one fatality.

"Stakeholders like the Ilembe District Municipality, Enterprise Ilembe and Lifeguards Africa got together to provide up to date radios, medical suppliers and safety equipment. By Easter Friday there was an additional 26 guards on duty provided by Lifeguards Africa and volunteers from the Salt Rock and Ballito Lifesaving clubs," he said.

"It was really incredible to see how much was achieved when everyone worked together for the greater good of the community," he said.

And with events like the Mr. Price Pro, the Prawn and Jazz festival and the World Amateur golf championships rolling out over the next two months the bets are on that Ballito will continue to flourish.