Knysna is reeling under the impact of the closure of Kaaiman's Pass, claiming 40 percent of tour companies have cancelled trips, and that, overall, tourism is down by 10 percent.
Now tourism and business in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay have called on the government to send out a clear message about road access to the region as its crucial peak tourism season approaches.
The region is pulling out all the stops to stave off an economic
meltdown.
There was some respite over the weekend when the N2 over the pass was opened to vehicles up to 25 tons, thereby allowing tour buses through until tomorrow at 6am.
However, yesterday the Knysna Tourism Board raised concerns that its peak overseas visitor season was about to start and a considerable number of tourists visited the Garden Route in buses.
Meetings will be held with provincial officials in Cape Town this week.
Craig Nancarrow, chief executive officer of Knysna Tourism, said apart from the blows dealt by the road collapse, the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe, which used to transport about 200 tourists, was also out of commission.
"Our peak tourism season starts now. It is our lifeblood," he said.
Many restaurants and other destinations rely on the coaches which make stops during their day trips. The number of visitors to Tsitsikamma has halved and restaurants' lunchtime figures are also down.
Nancarrow said: "The knock-on effects are worse than we imagined. It could lead to a potential catastrophe. The provincial government needs to send out a clear message about what is happening to the pass and engineers need to come up with a plan to rectify the situation."
Alan Winde, DA representative for the region, said opening of the pass to heavier vehicles was positive for the local economy. About 600 trucks were being diverted to the Langkloof road daily.
In some cases, companies, like those which delivered bread and milk, were locked into contracts and had to travel 900km to their destinations.
