Western Cape Minister of Tourism, Alan Winde, welcomes one of the world's most luxurious ocean liners, the RMS Queen Mary 2, and all its guests and crew to the Western Cape.
The QM2, which is well over 1 000 ft long (345 m), has a guest capacity of 3 056 and carries 1 253 crew members. It docked today at Eastern Mole in the Port of Cape Town.
Due to its extreme length, the QM2 is not able to dock at the V&A Waterfront.
Cruise liners below 656 ft (200 m) are able to berth at the V&A Waterfront, one of South Africa's premier tourist icons, and we should make use of this world-class facility at every opportunity for the enjoyment and comfort of our guests and for the benefit of our region's economy. I have called for an urgent meeting with Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to discuss lifting the ban that her department has imposed on cruise liners docking at the V&A Waterfront. The ban, which has been in place for two weeks, has already affected the docking arrangements of two cruise liners, and will affect another eight in the coming months.
The cruise liner tourism industry, although in its infancy, is an important niche product offering for our tourism industry. On an annual basis, it currently generates an estimated R206 million for the province's economy, a figure that is expected to grow significantly over the coming years as the City of Cape Town and national government roll out Cruise Line Tourism Strategies.
The Western Cape Government is serious about cruise line tourism. However, in order to ensure that we are able to increase this industry's contribution to growth and jobs, it is essential that we give visiting cruise line passengers a world-class reception by allowing ships below 200 metres to berth at the V& A Waterfront. I will continue to fight for this cause.
Statistics on the Queen Mary 2 as sourced from Cunard website:
- Five times longer than Cunard's first ship, Britannia (230 ft)
- 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary
- more than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall (550 ft)
- 147 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 ft)
- more than 3½ times as long as Westminster's Tower (Big Ben) is high (310 ft)
- only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall (1248 ft)
- more than three times as long as St. Paul's Cathedral is tall (366 ft)
- as long as 41 double-decker London buses (31½ ft. each)
- Queen Mary 2's whistle is audible for 10 miles.
Media enquiries:
Tammy Evans
Cell: 082 378 2235
Tel: 021 483 4327
