#SHSI Episode 14 - THE GARDEN ROUTE ECONOMY: SHOULD WE ALL JUST MOVE THERE?

I am in Knysna, a small town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, which forms part of the Garden Route region. Now the Garden Route district is one of six districts located in the Western Cape. Contributing R45billion to the western cape and SA’s GDP, This region includes towns & municipalities like Bitou, which is home to Plettenberg bay, and then you get places like Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Hessequa , Kannaland and Oudtshoorn municipalities All these form part of the garden route, an area that the N2 road that starts in the EC / WC border and goes all the way to Cape town. So why am I making this piece? Well, while being here on holiday, I asked myself a simple question: what drives the economies of these towns? Surely it can’t just be tourism; what does the future hold for them, and where will the growth come from here?