NELSON MANDELA BAY RETAINS BLUE FLAG STATUS AS HUMEWOOD MARKS 25 CONSECUTIVE YEARS
Published: October 21, 2026<< BACK TO NEWS
Global accolade reinforces the City’s beaches as engines of tourism growth, jobs and investment ahead of a landmark summer season.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality continues to reaffirm its standing as one of South Africa’s premier coastal tourism destinations after retaining the internationally recognised Blue Flag status for Kings Beach, Humewood Beach and Hobie Beach for the 2026/27 season. Humewood Beach celebrates an exceptional milestone of 25 consecutive years in the international Blue Flag Programme, an achievement that places it among the most consistently recognised beaches in the country.
The Municipality’s achievements were recently recognised at the national Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards, held at Grotto Beach in Hermanus on 8 October 2026. The occasion also marked an important milestone for environmental conservation, with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) celebrating 100 years of environmental action and Blue Flag South Africa commemorating 25 years of promoting sustainable coastal management. Humewood’s quarter century of unbroken recognition mirrors that national journey.
Executive Mayor, Councillor Babalwa Lobishe, said the retained Blue Flag statuses demonstrate the value of the Municipality’s continued investment and commitment to maintaining its beaches as strategic economic assets.
"We are a Metro that has identified its beaches as one of the critical enablers of our economic growth, specifically through international water sports events and tourism in general. The retained Blue Flag statuses clearly confirm the returns on the efforts we continue to make to keep our beaches at acceptable global standards. We are even more encouraged that we have received pilot status for Bluewater Bay and Wells Estate beaches.
"Every Blue Flag that flies over our beaches represents a guesthouse that is fully booked, a surf school that is busy, a beachfront trader who makes a sale and a young lifeguard who has a job. That is the tourism value chain we are protecting and growing,” said Mayor Lobishe.
Blue Flag status is never awarded permanently. It must be earned afresh every season, and is retained only through sustained, independently verified compliance with a demanding set of international standards. Each accreditation is therefore a direct reflection of the work carried out by municipal teams throughout the year, long before the first holidaymakers arrive.
Retaining the accolade requires close coordination across several municipal directorates and partners. This includes regular sampling and laboratory testing of bathing water quality, routine beach cleaning and waste management, trained lifeguards on duty during the bathing season, well maintained ablution and visitor facilities, universal access provisions, environmental education programmes, and the active protection of sensitive coastal ecosystems.
The Municipality has backed this commitment with targeted investment. In the current financial year, R5.6 million has been set aside for beach maintenance and upgrades, including improvements to the Kings Beach kiosk, a new balustrade at the Wells Estate beachfront, the restoration of vandalised ablution facilities at Sardinia Bay and the upgrading of fencing and facilities at Maitlands and Brighton beaches. The City’s Beach Safety Programme has also trained young people as peace officers to patrol the Humewood and Summerstrand beachfront, strengthening visitor safety while creating opportunities for youth.
The Blue Flag Programme, an internationally recognised and voluntary ecolabel coordinated in South Africa by WESSA, assesses participating beaches against criteria covering six key areas:
- Environmental management and sustainability.
- Environmental education and awareness.
- Safety and security.
- Accessibility and visitor facilities.
- Water quality and pollution prevention.
- Biodiversity conservation and the management of sensitive areas.
In addition to retaining full Blue Flag status for Kings Beach, Humewood Beach and Hobie Beach, the Municipality has secured pilot status for Bluewater Bay Beach and Wells Estate Beach. Pilot status allows participating beaches to work towards full accreditation through a rigorous preparation and assessment process, ensuring compliance with the programme’s minimum standards and protocols. It reflects a deliberate strategy to expand the City’s portfolio of internationally accredited beaches and to extend the benefits of Blue Flag recognition to more communities across the metro.
Blue Flag is one of the most widely recognised coastal ecolabels in the world. For international and domestic travellers, tour operators and event owners, it serves as a trusted assurance of clean water, safety and quality facilities. In a highly competitive coastal tourism market, this recognition differentiates Nelson Mandela Bay, supports destination marketing and strengthens the City’s case to attract visitors who stay longer and spend more.
The City’s accredited beaches are also the stage for its growing events economy. The ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship, staged at Hobie Beach in April 2026, was estimated to have injected more than R87 million into the local economy, generating over 20 787 verified overnight stays. From 25 November to 13 December 2026, Kings Beach will serve as a key venue for the Lifesaving World Championships, which are expected to attract more than 2 500 competitors, together with their crews and supporters, and an estimated R350 million in economic activity. That a Blue Flag beach will host the world’s leading lifesavers is a powerful endorsement of the standards the City maintains.
Coastal assets similarly enhance the visitor experience for the cruise sector. The 2025/26 cruise season welcomed 39 international vessels carrying 59 077 passengers and 22 994 crew members to Nelson Mandela Bay, contributing an estimated R111 million to the local economy, up from R96.5 million the previous season.
The value of a Blue Flag beach extends well beyond the shoreline. Every visitor drawn to the City’s beaches supports a wide network of enterprises: hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments; restaurants, cafés and beachfront traders; tour operators and registered tourist guides; surf schools, water sports and marine tourism operators; car hire, shuttle and taxi operators; and the events, conferencing and hospitality suppliers that service major occasions.
Much of this activity is driven by small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), informal traders and crafters, extending economic opportunity into township economies and surrounding communities. The programme itself sustains jobs for lifeguards, cleaning teams, peace officers, maintenance contractors and environmental educators, while its education component builds environmental awareness among learners, residents and visitors. Well managed beaches further strengthen investor confidence in the beachfront precinct and the wider metro, reinforcing Nelson Mandela Bay as a place to visit, live and invest.
The Municipality’s Blue Flag work is a practical expression of the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism Master Plan, which is aligned with the national tourism cluster framework. The plan identifies safety and cleanliness, access and tourism infrastructure as key enablers of growth, alongside responsible tourism, quality assurance, events tourism and community beneficiation. Blue Flag accreditation advances each of these priorities, and positions the City’s beaches as a cornerstone of the destination brand.
The achievement also aligns with the national tourism agenda. As the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2016 to 2026 reaches the end of its term and is reviewed in line with the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism approved by Cabinet in 2024, national priorities have sharpened around year-round tourism, visitor safety, job creation and the inclusion of women and youth. The Tourism Sector Masterplan, built on the pillars of demand generation, supply creation and destination management, and the Marine and Coastal Tourism programme under Operation Phakisa, which identifies Gqeberha and its surrounds as a priority coastal node, both recognise well managed beaches as strategic national assets.
Going forward, the Municipality will continue to work towards full Blue Flag accreditation for Bluewater Bay and Wells Estate, invest in beachfront infrastructure and safety, and use its beaches to anchor a year-round calendar of events that reduces seasonality and sustains employment. In partnership with Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, organised business and the private sector, the Metro remains committed to its ambition that all of its beaches meet the standard set by its Blue Flag sites.
"I would like to call upon all those who have not yet confirmed their holiday destinations to choose Nelson Mandela Bay. They will enjoy world standard, warm beaches and the friendliness of our people, which we are known for,” said Mayor Lobishe.
As the summer holiday season approaches, the Municipality encourages residents, visitors and holidaymakers to enjoy its beaches responsibly, to swim only where lifeguards are on duty, and to help protect the natural environment that makes Nelson Mandela Bay a sought after coastal destination.
The retained Blue Flag statuses and the recognition of two additional beaches at pilot level reaffirm the Municipality’s commitment to providing clean, safe, accessible and environmentally sustainable beaches, while strengthening Nelson Mandela Bay’s reputation as a destination of choice and a driver of inclusive economic growth.
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