Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Hosts First Pink Wedding

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Eco-tourism Resorts, South Africa’s first fully qualified GFASA-endorsed body, held its first pink wedding on the 16 ^th June 2007 at the picturesque Didima Conference Centre in Cathedral Peak, nestled in the snow-capped mountains of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu- Natal.

Says newlywed Nicole, “It was a fairytale come true, despite our rushed organising. Didima Chapel and Camp is the most amazing place. You have to see the chalets and honeymoon suite to believe how beautiful and luxurious it is. The camp staff welcomed all our guests and us with open arms and treated us like gold. We will be coming here for all our anniversaries. Ezemvelo even gave us the honeymoon suite free of charge on our wedding night. How special is that!” 

Adds her new bride, Kristel: “When it is your wedding, you are apprehensive that someone is going to say something to make you feel bad about who you are. We therefore selected an EKZN resort as we had read that this group had completed the LGBT sensitivity skills training through Hot Salsa Media. We are subscribers to Hot Salsa Media and love the marketing they do, so we trusted this. We definitely made the right choice.”

Didima Camp Manager, Hlengiwe Mbonwa, said it was an honour that the couple chose Didima to host the first pink wedding within EKZN Wildlife.We are humbled that Nicole and Kristel had faith in us.” Mbonwa said she anticipates more interest from the gay and lesbian community.Based on Nicole and Kristel's feedback, we are positive that we will get more bookings.

EKZN is one of South Africa’s largest and most diverse collections of holiday resorts, ranging from 5 star hotels to camping facilities. The group is the first, and only group of resorts, in South Africa to actively embark on a transformation process to compliment and give life to their marketing efforts to cater to the LGBT tourism market, locally and abroad. 

Says EKZN Trade Manager, Sharon Illet, “One of our objectives in introducing the marketing campaign was to penetrate new markets, but it is also in line with the Constitution. We are also funded by the taxpayer, so it's important for everyone to be able to enjoy and feel comfortable in our resorts.” Illet said the staff member’s were generally open to the training.

“Some of the older people were sceptical at first, but became very receptive.”

The long-term success of any skills training and transformation process hinges on on-going evaluation and buy-in and commitment from company management through to ground-level staff. Gladman Buthelezi, EKZN Executive Director of Commercial Operations says: “We are a multicultural country, full of life, colour and diversity, and Ezemvelo reflects this. We have to stay with the times, and training in all aspects of hospitality can only increase the knowledge and skills of our staff and management, thereby increasing the enjoyment and relaxation of our guests.”

CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Ndabo Khoza, says “The decision by EKZN to go for this market segment, which it has identified as lucrative, will go a long way in ensuring that their facilities are accessible and appealing to a wider market. Training on world-class service provision is an important aspect of ensuring that all our visitors feel welcomed and as such all our future efforts should be aimed at this”.

EKZN are embarking on a joint national and international PR campaign highlighting EKZN’s first gay wedding, their 68 resorts and the KZN province as a whole, including the transformation and skills training that that both stakeholders embrace.

Through ensuring that their resorts, services, staff and policies reflect the equality enshrined in South Africa’s unique Constitution, EKZN hope to attract and encourage many other same-sex couples to the province, in a campaign called the “The Province of Love”. Being the only country in the world to protect sexual orientation alongside race as a human right, South Africa introduced the Civil Unions Bill in November 2006, effectively consolidating the rights already gained for same-sex couples in South Africa.

Says Viv Quann, Senior Strategist, Hot Salsa Media, “EKZN has got the mix right. Companies that have an interest in gaining a new market, the pink rand, need to grasp the fact that, just like every other true consumer market in the world, there are no ‘quick wins’. Gaining the trust, and business, from the LGBT market is a long-term commitment that must be approached with full organisational commitment to the values. This really is misunderstood by corporates the world over, and South Africa is no different. The pink rand is estimated to be worth over R14billion per annum and is to be taken seriously. Current research proves that the gay and lesbian audiences are among the most loyal consumers in South Africa , but only once you have won them over, not just because you place a few stereotypical ads here and there. Constant intelligent affirmation works; sporadic stereotyping does not.”< /em>