About 55000 people attended the event, most of them from Gauteng. The head of eThekwini munici- pality's markets and tourism units, Philip Sithole, said yesterday visitors' direct spending exceeded R125- million, and the east coast region of the Federated Hospitality Asso- ciatiotocked up for little reward. It had been cold and visitors "did not come for a swim and so we lost on reported bumper sales.

But beachfront curio and traditional wear trader, Nomakhosi Mthiyane said she had sut".