WESSA Coastal Newsletter March 2021

Tourism Blue Flag beach stewards welcome beachgoers

In mid-December 2020, 75 Beach Stewards reported for duty at 20 Blue Flag beaches along the South African coastline. These stewards were placed to offer support to these beaches in beach monitoring, visitor assistance, crowd control (encouraging Covid-19 social distancing and mask wearing), and incident management . They also had a pivotal role in arranging and running enviro-education events and edutainment at their beaches. Stipends for the stewards, their tourism training and resources to support them are funded by the National Department of Tourism; with WESSA managing the stewards.

Education talk on plastic pollution being conducted at Humewood beach in Port Elizabeth for 400 kids from local communities.

Tourism Blue Flag youth graduate into the blue-green economy

The graduating beach stewards received their certificates of competency for their year-long accredited tourism guiding training as part of the Tourism Blue Flag project (TBF). The placement of these youth with host institutions also aimed to support municipalities managing Blue Flag beaches and marinas. The project also supported private tourism companies working to build back better from the severe impact of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

31 KwaZulu-Natal youth at the TBF graduation ceremony in Durban