The Western Cape tourism sector expects a major recovery after a positive performance at the start of the season.
MEC of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger said tourism recovery data collected between January and December 2022 showed an upward trend at both the Cape Town International Airport and George Airport, as well as tourist attractions across the province.
Passenger volumes at the Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) between December 1 and 28 showed an overall 77% recovery compared to the same period in 2019, said Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).
Figures for international, regional and domestic passengers at CTIA during that period in 2022 stood at 749 228 compared to 962 185 in 2019.
ACSA spokesperson Gopolang Peme said: "We are optimistic with the recovery. We will continue to facilitate passengers to add value to tourism which plays a meaningful role to our economy.“
According to Wenger over seven million passengers had come through the Cape Town airport between January and November.
Of this number, 1.6m were international travellers while 5.3m were domestic passengers.
The UK ranked as the top source market to Cape Town, via air, followed by Germany, US, Netherlands, and France. According to Wenger, the number of visitors to 20 attractions across the province recorded a total of 456 025 visitors in November 2022, a 127% growth compared to the same month in 2021 and 71% of what it was in November 2019.
The top five attractions that showed a year-on year growth rate in November 2022 included Robben Island, Table Mountain National Park, Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Table Mountain National Park Boulders and the Cango Caves.
Wenger also said provincial traffic services had noted high levels of traffic on Western Cape roads as citizens travelled to and within the province.
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) said the number of motorists who passed through the Huguenot tunnel between December 31 and January 4 also showed a growth compared to 2020, but slightly lower compared to 2021.
From New Year's Day until January 4, over 62 000 vehicles passed through the tunnel.
"More visitors to our province means more jobs for our residents, and so this is excellent news indeed. We are committed to growing these figures even further by connecting Cape Town to more destinations around the world, and by doing whatever we can to remove barriers that stand in the way of this sector’s success,” said Wenger.
The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) also said it was optimistic that South Africa would be able to meet the pent-up demand.
The association’s Cape chairperson, Lee-Ann Singer said while the industry was not back at pre-Covid 19 levels, South Africans had shown their support during the festive season.
"We are pleased with the outcome of our first real peak holiday season since the end of 2019.
"From a trends perspective, the usual holiday hotspots enjoyed high support. We also noticed a trend towards last-minute booking and splurging, in line with global travel trends whereby consumers prioritise travel and spoiling themselves, having had to sacrifice this over the past few years," said Singer.
Fedhasa also urged South Africa to position itself for the Chinese travellers as they sought to end their three years of self-imposed isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“South Africa has long sought to attract Chinese travellers but numbers have remained low, not least because of the friction these have when trying to apply for visas to visit the country,” said the association’s national chairperson, Rosemary Anderson.
“It is our hope that our government will recognise the massive potential held by this source market in helping our recovery and implement a visa-friendly regime that will make it far easier for them to visit,” she said.
Anderson urged travel trade catering to actively promote the destination and special packages to capitalise on China’s reopening.
“There can be no question of the potential that the Chinese market holds for South Africa and its tourism and hospitality business – not just in terms of the size of that market, but also in terms of its spend, both of which will help tourism and hospitality businesses realise their potential to build South Africa’s economy and create jobs,” added Anderson.
Weekend Argus