High note for Cape Town tourism as cruise ship industry booms

Cape Town is buoyant about the city’s future as a stopover port of choice for cruise liners.

Cruise ships made 17 stops in the city’s port in January 2019, a month that marks the peak of cruise ship season in Cape Town, which traditionally runs from October to April.

More than 17,500 people disembarked in the city from vessels carrying 6,562 crew members between October 2018 and January 20. More than 17,500 people embarked on ships in the same period.

Western Cape minister of economic opportunities Beverley Schäfer said: "We’re seeing cruising growing in popularity around the world, and we're also starting to see both an increase in local cruising along our coast, as well as increased numbers of international operators using Cape Town as a turnaround port. Confirmed cruises for the next few years have also shown real growth and we are very positive about the potential of this industry."

Among the luxury liners to have visited the city are the Queen Elizabeth, the World Odyssey, the Europa 2, the Seven Seas Explorer, the Nautica and the Amadea.

The MSC Musica, which had to delay docking last week as a result of rough winds, was finally able to dock early on Saturday.

The Ocean Dream, also known as the Peace Boat, also docked at the weekend.

Other vessels due to call this season include the Queen Victoria, the Silver Cloud, the Pacific Princess and the Viking Sun.

"As a province our aim, through Project Khulisa, has been to grow tourism as a vehicle to stimulate the economy and create new jobs, and cruise ship tourism is helping us to do this. The Western Cape tourism industry sustains more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs, and by increasing the number of cruise liners visiting Cape Town, we can create further opportunities for work and skills development," said Schäfer.

She said the development of a dedicated cruise ship terminal operated by the V&A Waterfront and opened last year had played an important role.

"We’ve seen cruising numbers grow in leaps and bounds in recent years and we’re seeing dramatic increases in numbers for the coming 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons," she said.

For the 2019/2020 season, 30 vessels are expected to make 49 stops in Cape Town, while for the 2020/21 season 32 vessels with 67 stops are confirmed.

"The Waterfront has is starting to see people flying into Cape Town specifically to board cruises. This, in turn, adds value to our other tourism offerings as these guests often book hotel stays and make use of other tourism facilities while they are in the city. Similarly, some vessels are doing crew changeovers in the city, meaning that the inbound and outbound crew members also make use of hotels and other facilities while in the city," Schäfer said.