Flights into city soar to a 5-year high

Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde

Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde

Published May 22, 2015

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Francesca Villette

Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said yesterday that at the end of last year, flights into Cape Town had increased by nearly 300 000 from 8 334 117 in 2013 to 8 626 167 last year, reaching a five-year high.

For the month of April, Cape Town International Airport had 376 514 international and domestic arrivals, compared to 324 807 in 2010 – an increase of more than 51 000.

International arrivals had a 6 percent year-on-year increase and domestic arrivals increased by 5 percent. “It is estimated that for every 10 tourists, one job is created, underscoring the extreme importance of this sector for our economy,” Winde said.

Airports Company SA spokesperson Deborah Francis said new airlines and routes were introduced with Safair in October last year, which contributed to the increase.

“The biggest positive was Qatar Airways, which started operating five weekly direct flights to Cape Town at the beginning of November,” Francis said.

Winde said between R8 billion and R13bn had been pumped into the local economy as about 1 million international tourists visited the province every year.

Project Khulisa, a job creation strategy by the provincial department, had identified tourism as a priority sector for the next five years.

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