Cape Town gearing for cruise ship bonanza as passengers return en masse
Cape Town plans to use its burgeoning cruise ship terminal as a tourist magnet and engine of economic growth.
Latest figures show the cruise ship industry has bounced back from Covid-19 lockdown to register more than 145,000 passengers aboard 70 ships during the past summer cruise season, the City of Cape Town reported.
However, the city believes it can do much better, with huge potential benefits for the regional economy.
Cruise ship tourism was a key topic at a Cruise Tourism Workshop hosted last week by South African Tourism. Attendees included a wide range of stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
“Cape Town had an excellent visitor season this past summer,” said the City’s head of economic development James Vos.
“We are looking to build on this growth, exceeding those figures, and realising our goal of creating a tourism-related job in every household.
“Through tourism we can continue to economically empower communities while showcasing and sharing South Africa’s rich culture, natural beauty, adventure, luxury, and heritage with visitors. Having this workshop on cruise tourism adds this sector to our list and helps highlight its benefits to Cape Town’s economy,” Vos said.
In addition to the 145,000 passengers, the city hosted 42,000 crew over the past season, according to the latest stats. Global industry stats suggest the average visitor spends about R14,000 during their visit, the city said, contributing to an estimated annual economic contribution of about R300m.
Vos said: “This sector has the potential to grow even more with huge economic spin-offs for our province and country. The city will continue to work with our tourism partners and the V&A Waterfront to promote our region as a destination of choice globally for cruise tourism. The city will continue to invest in tourism programmes and projects that drive demand and make business sense as tourism sustains about 150,000 jobs in Cape Town.”
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