The Western Cape’s Tourism sector continues to grow and strengthen following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger says the total international air arrivals to Cape Town International Airport between January and February 2024 surpassed the 200,000 mark. This figure exceeds the 2019 figure (pre-covid 19 pandemic) of 194,058 for the same period. The latest tally breaks all previous records in the last five years.
The figures have recently been confirmed by Statistics South Africa. In addition, visitor numbers at key attractions in regions across the province are up 20% year on year.
“This is yet more excellent news for the sector because we know that more tourists means more jobs across the province” added Wenger
This is according to the monthly tourism report for February 2024, compiled by the Western Cape Government’s tourism, trade, and investment promotion agency, Wesgro.
According to Airport Company of South Africa, 2-way passengers through Cape Town International Airport’s international terminal saw a 14% year-on-year growth in February 2024. This maintains a steady growth rate, with nearly 300,000 two-way passengers. This is on the back of a 13% increase recorded in January 2024
In addition, the domestic terminal recorded a 14% year-on-year growth in February 2024. This was after over 576,000 two-way passengers passed through the terminal.
As for George Airport, over 59,000 two-way passengers were recorded in February 2024. These figures indicated that the airport is approaching full recovery when compared to pre-COVID levels.
And lastly, in February 2024, 92% of the international air arrivals to Cape Town were from overseas markets (other than Africa). Only 8% of the arrivals were from the rest of Africa.
Other highlights from the tourism sector
Between January and February 2024, the United Kingdom (UK) was the top overseas air market to Cape Town. Germany was a very close second, followed by the United States of America. Netherlands and France also join the top 5 positions.
In the first two months of 2024, Namibia led the top air market from the rest of Africa to Cape Town. Zimbabwe followed closely in the second position. Mozambique, Angola and Kenya followed in the rest of the top 5 positions.
43 participating tourist attractions across the Western Cape recorded a total of 1,7 million visitors between January and February. This is a 20% growth in the number of visitors when compared to the same period in 2023.
The top 5 tourist attractions with the highest volume of visitors between January and February were Table Mountain National Park, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Table Mountain National Park: Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain National Park: Boulders and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.
According to data from SA Tourism, for every 100 international visitors to the province, R2.1 million in direct tourist spend is generated. This contributes R500 000 to the provincial Gross Domestic Product and enables two local jobs.
“This success has not happened by chance and would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of our local tourism industry, the curiosity and trust of our precious tourists, and the determination of this government, entities and partners.”
