Western Cape tourism arrivals up by 18%

Views from the top of Table Mountain, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Photo: Sheldon Moultrie

Views from the top of Table Mountain, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Photo: Sheldon Moultrie

Published Jul 13, 2017

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Cape Town - The Western Cape attracted 1.5 million foreign tourists who

has spent R18 billion in the province in 2016. This is according to the latest

figures recently released by South African Tourism (SAT) this week.

After the release of the figures, the Minister of Economic

Opportunities, Alan Winde, Wesgro, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s tourism as

well as the trade and investment promotion agency, will provide an update on

the Project Khulisa progress to grow the tourism sector.

The figures from SAT’s report shows in 2016, 1.5 million

international tourists travelled to the province which gives a year-on-year

increase of 18.5 percent, foreign tourist spending grew by 21.6%, increasing to

R18.1 billion, domestic tourist arrivals reached 2.1 million bringing it to

16.9 percent year-on-year and they spent R2.5 billion, which is a 24.3%

increase from the previous year.

Read also:   Western Cape says tourism hit record level 

Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde said: “2016

was a phenomenal year for Western Cape tourism, with substantial increases

recorded across the board. This is a result of amongst others the decision we

made to put tourism front and centre through our Project Khulisa growth

strategy.

When we put Project Khulisa together, we believed that

tourism held huge potential to unlock accelerated growth and job creation in

our province. We put dedicated teams, and a dedicated programme of action in

place to realise this potential.”

He said that next week a full analysis of the tourist

performance to date will be provided and they will be reporting back on their

achievements in terms of creating growth and jobs in this sector.

Wesgro Chief Marketing Officer, Judy Lain said: “The latest

South African Tourism data underlines the strength of the tourism sector as an

economic driver for the Western Cape. Looking forward, Wesgro will continue

driving their leisure and Convention Bureau plans to keep the momentum going.”

“Tourism can help create jobs during tough economic times,

so we must all double-down on our efforts to grow these numbers even further,”

Lain said.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE 

 

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