The decline of one of South Africa’s most popular tourist spots

Durban’s main attraction and the largest marine theme park in Africa, uShaka Marine World, opened as a world-class facility and a catalyst for urban renewal in the Point Precinct, but 21 years after its opening, it’s struggling to keep afloat.

The park opened its turnstiles to the public in April 2004, at a time when tourist arrivals and investment in the Point Precinct were declining.

Since opening, the park has seen over 15 million visitors to its attractions – which include the fifth largest aquarium in the world by volume, the Wet-n-Wild water park, the uShaka Beach, and the Village Walk shopping centre.

The park’s latest annual report for the 2023/2024 financial year laid bare its woes, showing that its average annual operating revenue wasR202 million, while its average operating expenses remained at R264 million. 

“This shows that the park cannot trade its way into financial sustainability without major intervention or continuous financial support from the parent municipality,” the report reads. 

The eThekwini municipality recently approved a cash injection of R14 million to help the park remain open during quieter months. 

The municipality now accounts for 46% of the park’s revenue and provided uShaka with a government grant of R127.3 million in the last financial year. 

CEO of uShaka, Ndabo Khoza, said in an interview with IOL that the issue stems from the park’s high operating costs. 

“If you were to try and pass on all those costs to the visitors, it would then render the place extremely expensive,” the CEO said. 

This issue is worsened by the country’s current economic situation, according to the report, in which not many South Africans have the disposable income to afford domestic travel or visiting the park. 

Due to these financial difficulties, the park significantly underspent on repairs and maintenance during the financial year. 

This will likely lead to bigger problems down the road, when the park will not have sufficient funds to replace the infrastructure that is beyond the point of repair. 

The park’s footfall increased by only 2.28% in the last financial year, an underwhelming performance, according to the park’s management. 

“Management projected a much higher growth rate, but this was affected by inclement weather during the highest peak period between Christmas and New Year towards the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024,” said Khoza.

“Furthermore, due to industrial action, the park had to close between February 2024 and March 2024.”

A wage dispute with the park’s staff was resolved by eThekwini municipality in March 2024. However, staff wages remain a key cost driver for the park.

Durban’s last theme park

The auditor’s report for the 2023/2024 financial year found that the cost of the park’s staff, high utility costs for water and electricity, and the high cost of maintaining the park and its marine animals need to be dealt with for the park to be financially independent. 

The auditor emphasised that the park is, by design, not intended to generate a profit, but its financial sustainability is under threat.

In terms of the park’s mandate to catalyze development on the Durban beachfront area, the audit report found that the closure of Durban’s beaches due to E. coli contamination and negative media representation is to blame for a decline in tourist visits and urban growth. 

The park listed urban decay in the Point Precinct as one of its main challenges. Accessing the park through the Point Precinct area was found to reduce the park’s appeal. 

“A multi-stakeholder approach is required here to improve the precinct appeal and attract visitors to this side of town,” the audit committee said. 

The auditor said that major infrastructure upgrades to pipelines and “bad buildings” have been undertaken by the municipality. 

Looking forward, the park has submitted a turnaround strategy to the eThekwini municipality that is awaiting approval. 

The strategy would allegedly include outsourcing operations to private operators to reduce the facility’s reliance on municipal funding. 

There have been talks that there may be retrenchments at the park, although the eThekwini Municipality said that this has not been confirmed. 

ActionSA councillor Zwakele Mncwango said there are concerns about this proposal, adding that, while the surrounding areas of Durban’s CBD fail to attract tourists, the turnaround strategy will likely be ineffective. 

“Unfortunately, following the closures of Snake Park and the iconic Durban Fun World, uShaka Marine World stands as the sole theme park within our troubled municipality,” Mncwango said. 

uShaka Marine World’s PR Manager, Thandeka Magomola, told Newsday that the turnaround strategy is still pending approval with the municipality and that it cannot give any information until eThekwini publishes an official communication on the plan.

Before the park was established, it was clear that investment was moving to the North of Durban, to areas such as Umhlanga, according to the Worldwide Zoo Database

In the decade before the park’s opening, no new investments had been made in the area, and properties in the Durban CBD were beginning to decline in value. 

The theme park opened as the fifth-largest aquarium in the world by volume, Sea World, and is accompanied by the water park, Wet-n-Wild, along with the Village Walk shopping area. 

The City of eThekwini did not respond to questions from Newsday.