Cape Town - The Western Cape’s continued water crisis could deal a blow to a tourism sector in the province which has seen 26 000 jobs added to the provincial economy with tourist spend increasing by R4 billion.
Announcing a mid-term report on the Western Cape government’s Project Khulisa, Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said many tourist to the province were not aware of the drought crisis.
“We’ve got a big, big water issue in the City specifically but across the province. Last year this time our dams were sitting at an average of 45%, they’re now at 25%. That puts it in context,” said Winde.
“Our study have shown that tourists use more water than locals because they’re not, they don’t have it ingrained and embedded in their psyche that we’re in a difficult space.
“I want to thank the hotels. The hotels have really embraced it, you see mini posters that are in the rooms, you see in the entrances of hotels, you see in their lifts,” said Winde.
He said hotel saved water by removing the plugs from their baths in the rooms so that guests are forced to take showers which uses less water.
Last year Cape Town International Airport saw a 12,3% increase in international arrivals from 2014, to 1,56 million.
Project Khulisa is targeting the creation of 100 000 jobs in the tourism sector by 2019.
He said in 2014 Cape Town had secured R280 million of the conferences in South Africa.
“We’re now at R425 million for 2016/2017. This year alone we’ve added 400 000 new two-way international airline seats which is part of Project Khulisa’s ‘air-lift project’,” said Winde.
He said improved air access to Cape Town has increased tourism numbers which in turn has increased tourism spend which now stood at R18 billion up from the R14 billion in 2014.
Winde said analysis by the provincial department of economic development and tourism showed a number of tourism infrastructure projects like a raft of new hotels being built in Cape Town.
“We’ve seen the Marriot Hotel (Group’s) R43 billion into new hotels in the region. We’ve got in a month’s time the opening of two new Tsogo Sun investments in Bree Street.
“We’ve seen what’s happening in Franschhoek with the Leeu Collection, at the V&A Waterfront the Radisson Red is just about ready to go and it's looking really good,” said Winde.