THE Paarl Post edition, dated March 3, and its banner posters along main streets highlighted the anger of Paarlites over the disruption caused by cycle races.
Those aggrieved were the shoppers who had to use routes other than normal and shopkeepers who state that turnover was drastically affected at month-end.
I do not dispute the individual frustration nor the inconvenience. No doubt too, Paarlites and others in our town could have expected better information from the Municipality and organisers so as to plan their lives accordingly.
But why is our kneejerk reaction always negative? Can we not also look at the bigger picture? Can we not look at ourselves through the eyes of the visitor?
Paarl has a reputation for not being very tourist friendly, yet we envy the tourist spend in neighbouring towns.
Here was an event to be seized on as an opportunity to show off our town. Here was an opportunity to devise marketing ploys to capitalise on the race for our own inhabitants and future visitors.
When the Argus race inconveniences Cape Town, crowds turn out to cheer on and encourage and make a fun community day of it.
The race is now world renowned and millions of rands are spent for a day’s inconvenience. In Paarl, we moan.
These are once-off events and we should be delighted that Paarl is exposed to a wider audience. Events bring visitors. Events by implication spread the economic benefits to all inhabitants in the long term.
We need visitors and sports events especially are good for advertising our towns in this valley.
Let us smile for the visitor and make them all, even at our own temporary inconvenience, feel so welcome that they would like to come back and spend their money here. That will create jobs and benefit everyone.
One who chose to live here
