Cape Town’s tourism sector is looking positive. This is despite the many obstacles, including recent travel bans and the Omicron variant putting a damper on visitor bookings to the Mother City.

The team at Cape Town International Airport says it expects over 19 000 passengers and 180 flights will be processed daily in the week before Christmas.

TravelStart says that over 25 000 flights have been booked through its system for December alone.

Mayco member for Economic Growth, James Vos says: “In the coming year, I will place even greater effort into tourism enterprise growth. An example is the expanded rollout of the Neighbourhood Experience Development training manual, a practical guide that includes guidance on guest management and business operations.”

Vos has been out and about in the Mother City to check on visitor number and experiences and was recently at the Cape Town Tourism’s (CTT) Visitor Experience Centres.

He said: “I was pleased to hear that the Centres’ teams have engaged with thousands of local visitors, a plain and clear sign of the success of our Pocket-Friendly domestic tourism campaign which was launched just over two weeks ago. These Centres are indicative of the service offering of CTT, Cape Town’s official Destination Marketing Organisation, which is funded by the City.”

The campaign is a partnership between CTT and Travelstart, Safarinow and Club Travel booking platforms that are offering locals discounts on flights, accommodation and experiences.