Cape Town - The city council is to invest R35m to boost tourism, mayor Patricia de Lille says.
The mayor was addressing a World Tourism Day event on Tuesday at the MOCAA Pavilion at the V&A Waterfront.
De Lille said she attended a seasonality workshop in conjunction with the Western Cape government and the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa to assess avenues of economic development derived from tourism in the quieter winter months.
The workshop was also attended by Cape Town Tourism, the Western Cape’s official trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro and Airports Company South Africa.
It focused on areas that required “immediate action” and developed targeted campaigns to “showcase the many interesting things happening in Cape Town” over the winter months.
It also sought to grow business tourism through events and conferences.
“We all agreed that we need to collectively address the challenges and opportunities of seasonality and work towards more co-ordination between the government and the business sector. The city is excited about the awarding of the tender to the V&A Waterfront for the development and construction of a cruise liner terminal,” she said.
She added that data from the Transnet Ports Authority revealed that
in 2005, 19 passenger vessels docked at the port. This number grew steadily to 43 passenger ships docking in 2013.
“According to the V&A Waterfront’s data, cruise ship tourism has seen tremendous growth in the city. In 2013, there was a 143.9 percent increase in the number of passengers reaching 14 754 passengers, increasing by 8 704 from the 6 050 passengers in 2012.
“Furthermore, there were also 68 confirmed passenger vessel bookings between September 2014 and December 2015.
“These numbers are encouraging and they tell us that Cape Town has the potential to grow this industry,” she said.
De Lille was confident that if the city was re-positioned as a year-round destination, winter flight and tourism figures would improve significantly.
MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde said the city had always been a “darling” among long-haul destinations.
“Cape Town the brand is very strong and we must continue to create exciting things within the system.
“For example the mayor was talking about the MOCCA museum – it is a major attraction not only for the city but for Africa and how Africa will be exhibited in its art.”
He said that the city was investing “hundreds of millions” in the tourism sector.
“This is small compared to the private sector. The private sector really invests. There are five hotels being developed as we speak.”
Sabine Lehmann on behalf of the Big Seven Cape Town tourist attractions said the Table Mountain Cableway received over 900 000 visitors a year of which 45 percent were local tourists. That figure peaked at 75 percent during the holiday season.
“All businesses need to have sustainability throughout the year, ideally having a stable business throughout the year rather than these peaks. At Table Mountain Cableway, what we have really focused on is providing specials that are very much aimed at locals,” she said.
Cape Argus