MEC of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde welcomes Queen Mary 2 to Cape Town
One of the world’s most luxurious cruise liners, the Queen Mary 2, docks in Cape Town tomorrow. Alan Winde, MEC of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, welcomed the guests and crew to the city, ahead of their arrival at the Eastern Mole, Ducan Dock tomorrow morning.
The 345m vessel is carrying 2 300 passengers and spends two days in Cape Town before travelling to Durban and then continuing its voyage to Australia and the Far East. Since entering service in 2004, this is the Queen Mary’s fifth visit to Cape Town.
MEC Winde said cruise liners brought more than 10 000 visitors to the province annually providing a boost for the tourism industry. The niche industry generates more than R200 million for the local economy each year.
“We are looking forward to the development of a dedicated cruise-liner terminal at the Port of Cape Town. Transnet accepted bids until the end of October 2013, and have agreed to announce the winning operator by November 2014. That means work on the new terminal could begin before this year is out,” said MEC Winde.
Interesting facts about the Queen Mary 2:
- Equal to the eight of a 23-storey building
- Her hull weighs 50 000 tons
- There are 2000 bathrooms
- On board there are 3000 telephones
- The vessel has 5 000 stairs
- Guests and crew consume over a million tea bags each year and annual team consumption would fill an Olympic size swimming pool.
For media queries:
Bronwynne Jooste, Spokesperson for MEC Alan Winde
Cell: 082 454 4365
Tel: 021 483 3550
E-mail: bronwynne.jooste@westerncape.gov.za
