National radio and television presenters, top media representatives and a bevy of beautiful girls came together in a blaze of excitement at Johannesburg's hottest venue ZAR nightclub last night to mark the launch of a marketing campaign aptly called "Hot Ballito".

Personalities like 5FM's Gareth Cliff, DJ Fresh, KwaZulu-Natal former East Coast Radio host Daren Scott mingled with the likes of Carte Blanche host Derek Watts and John Walland from Jacaranda and a whole lot more of high profile guests.

Leveraging from the name of Ballito or "little ball" in Italian and then adding a dash of red - a red ball has been adopted as the logo for the campaign.

The "Hot Ballito" marketing campaign is aimed at positioning the town as the Hottest Place to be in KwaZulu-Natal and the country. It is a case of move over Durban - Ballito is ready to burn," said Trenley Tilbrook CEO of the ilembe chamber of commerce, industry and Tourism.

The event brought in red balloons, beautiful flowers, dangerous cocktails and a range of decadent canapés. Sponsors included Enterprise ilembe, Kwadukuza municipality, G&G Productions and ZAR.
Backed by a sound and lighting show extravaganza, Tilbrook explained some of the reasons behind the launch.

"Ballito has been identified as the primary development corridor in the country with an estimated 40 000 new homes to be built in the next five to 10 years," he said.

There is going to be a high speed rail link between the airport and Ballito, a new town centre and an international conference centre.

"To get some kind of context about what I talking about, it is important to realize that in 2000, Ballito had one shopping centre and about 3 000 beds available for visitors. Today we have four shopping centres and 7 000 bed nights," said Tilbrook.

Ten years ago there were 10 000 residents in Ballito - 30% which were permanent and the rest were holiday homes occupied once or twice a year. Today the population size has grown to 60 000.
And while an average of 13 000 motorists passed through the Tongaat Toll plaza per day 10 years ago - an average of 71 000 make the trip today.

One of the biggest driving forces behind the rapid growth and expansion in the area is the establishment of the King Shaka International Airport some 20 minutes away from Ballito.
The close proximity has turned the once-sleepy little coastal town into an ideal stop-over for international tourists en route to the world renowned Lake St Lucia Isimangaliso Wetland Park and the Umfolozi/Hluhluwe Big Five Game Reserves.

"Ballito has now become the Gateway to the Zulu Kingdom," said Tilbrook.
A recent survey conducted by the Ilembe Chamber of 61 businesses in the area showed 74% said the main advantage to doing business was the quality of life.

Sixty-three percent said sales had increased over the last two years - during a world-wide recession - and 85% anticipated that sales would increase over the next two years.

"More importantly though 80% not once considered selling, closing or moving in the last two years and 83% intended on expanding," said Tillbrook.

The survey was conducted by an independent facilitator who said he has never seen some of these percentages this high before.

The profile of Ballito has also been raised through the hosting of international events like the Mr Price Pro surf competition that saw entries from around the world and the Prawn and Jazz Festival.
Moving forward, Tilbrook is up-beat about this year's New Year's Eve party that will see a ssimultaneously link and broadcast between Cape Town and Ballito.

For the first time ever people partying in Ballito will be able to see those having a good time in Cape Town and vice versa.
"It is going to be awesome," he said.

For more information go to www.HotBallito.co.za or contact the chamber on (032) 586 0833 or email info@ilembechamber.co.za.

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