Cape Town -
Cape Town has experienced steady growth in tourism numbers with direct tourism spend increasing by R1.5-billion over the past three years
In a statement, the City of Cape Town said research conducted by Grant Thornton showed that direct tourism spend increased from R14.4bn in 2012 to R15.6bn in 2014.
Of the 1 745 300 foreign arrivals to the Western Cape, just over 94 percent (1 645 469) chose Cape Town as their holiday destination, mayoral committee member for tourism, events, and economic development Garreth Bloor said.
The domestic tourism market also remained buoyant, with 863 351 visitors making their way to the city, representing an increase of just over 191 000.
“For the first time, the research has identified the spend by domestic travellers on day trips to Cape Town, which amounted to R3.2bn in 2013. This underscores the importance of not underestimating day trips to the city. We need to take cognisance of the bigger picture – although day visitors do not spend on overnight accommodation, they spend on the city’s attractions, restaurants, local transport, and shopping, among others. At R3.2bn per year, this is a significant contribution to the economy of Cape Town.”
Bloor said Cape Town has seen an upward trend in local job creation over the last few years, with the number of jobs increasing.
“Currently there are 38 838 permanent jobs and 15 489 temporary jobs created in the local tourism sector. Sustainable job creation is a huge challenge so every job created is most welcomed.”
Key findings presented with regard to domestic tourism in Cape Town and the Western Cape for 2013/14, included the total direct tourism spend by domestic travellers to Cape Town was R1.9bn, and the number of domestic bed nights on trips to Cape Town increased by 4.2 percent to 5 467 956.
Domestic overnight spend in Cape Town had grown by 10.8 percent per annum between 2009 and 2014, compared with growth in total domestic spend of 3.7 percent. With an assumed inflation rate of around five percent, the growth in domestic overnight spend in Cape Town represented real growth of 5.8 percent per annum.
The main purpose of domestic trips taken to the Western Cape was generally to visit family or relatives (60 percent), followed by 23 percent travelling to take a holiday. There was a higher incidence of trips to the Western Cape being taken for holiday purposes as compared with South Africa as a whole.
During the 2013/2014 financial year, the total direct tourism spend by foreign visitors to Cape Town topped R13.6bn, and foreign direct tourism spend in Cape Town had increased by 3.9 percent per annum between 2009 and 2014.
The number of bed nights occupied by foreign arrivals in Cape Town increased to 15 514 877 from 13 392 566 in 2013, an increase of 2.1 million bed nights. The Western Cape share of foreign bed nights was 22 409 196 for this period.
“It is also interesting to note the shift in the visitor profile of foreign visitors to our shores. We have noticed a trend over the last few years whereby our travellers are much younger,” Bloor said.
In keeping with the trend, more than 60 percent of foreign visitors were between 24 and 44 years old, with the majority (32.1 percent) being between 35 and 44.
Just over 30 percent of foreign travellers indicated that their primary purpose for travelling was to visit friends, Bloor said.
ANA