MEC Alan Winde on first quarter tourism arrivals

First quarter tourism arrivals show impressive growth

International and domestic air arrivals into the Western Cape are on a five-year high, according to the latest figures from the Cape Town International Airport. Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Opportunities, said arrivals over the traditional peak season between January and April had increased steadily since 2010.

“Looking at the passenger numbers for the first quarter, International arrivals have increased by 6% year on year and domestic arrivals rose by 5%. More people are choosing to visit the Western Cape for leisure and business.”

Cape Town International Airport saw a significant increase in passenger movement for the calendar year of 2014; the overall passenger numbers have grown by almost 300 000 from 8 334 117 in 2013 to 8 626 167 for 2014. Said Winde: “It is estimated that for every 10 tourists, one job is created, underscoring the extreme importance of this sector for our economy and our people.”

Deborah Francis, the acting Communications Manager: Cape Town International Airport said: “The 2014 3.5% increase in overall passenger numbers can be attributed to a number of factors. We have seen an increase in flight frequencies in the domestic and international fronts. Mango Airlines increased its flights to Durban and Johannesburg in the month of August, SA Express also increased movements on the Hoedspruit and Kimberley routes while SA Airlink increased movements on the George, Kimberley and Upington. New airlines and airline routes were introduced with Safair in October 2014 and SA Airlink operating a new route to Skukuza.

“Cemair also started its Plettenberg route early in the year. Condor Airways, which offers a nonstop flight from Frankfurt, Germany, introduced an extra flight as from October with Edelweiss, also increasing its weekly flights to three per week. The biggest positive was Qatar Airways which started operating five weekly directs flights to Cape Town at the beginning of November. The seasonal carriers are also countering the historical seasonality challenges faced by Cape Town by extending the season by two weeks at each end”, added Francis.

Minister Winde added that Cape Town International Airport had also garnered global acclaim when it was recently voted as one of the world’s most scenic airport approaches by PrivateFly, an international booking platform for private jet charters.

Arrival figures:

MEC Winde said increasing air access was central to growing the tourism sector. “The Department of Economic Development and Tourism is developing an air access strategy in partnership with Wesgro, the City of Cape Town and Airports Company South Africa.

“The aim of the Air Access strategy is to create more direct links between our destination and others, helping tourists to get here more easily. We are focusing on routes into The United States of America and Africa, both of which are growing markets for us.” Research shows a direct link between economic growth and improved air access.

MEC Winde said tourism was the Western Cape’s fastest-growing sector. “Through Project Khulisa, we have identified tourism as a priority sector for the next five years. It is currently worth R17 billion and employs over 200 000 people on a formal basis and hundreds of thousands more on an informal basis. In a high-growth scenario, benchmarked against the successes of other regions which have focused their efforts and energy on growing this sector, we have found that it has the potential to create up to 120 000 more formal jobs and garner GVA in the region of R28 billion for our economy.

“Together with all stakeholders, we are currently working on a set of action plans to ramp up economic growth in this sector, which will be presented for Cabinet approval in August 2015. Our major goal will be to ensure the Western Cape becomes an all-year destination.”

For media queries, kindly contact:
Bronwynne Jooste
Spokesperson: Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Opportunities
Tel: 021 483 3550
Cell: 060 970 4301
E-mail: bronwynne.jooste@westerncape.gov.za
Twitter: bronwynnejooste