Weak rand boosts tourism
International visitors keen to take advantage of exchange rate
THE WESTERN Cape’s tourism sector is set for a bumper festive season with hotel occupancy figures on the increase, thanks to the weak rand and relaxation of visa laws, says experts. Rob Kucera, the chairman of the Federated Hospitality Association of SA in the Cape and general manager of Westin hotel, said the hospitality sector has seen increased hotel occupancy numbers during October and last month.
Kucera said the main reason for the increase in visitor numbers was a combination of the weak rand and the relaxation of the visa regulations.
He said the weak rand resulted in many South Africans not travelling abroad but rather touring the country, while the currencies weakness favoured international visitors to the country.
Enver Duminy, Cape Town Tourism’s chief executive, said despite the challenges that the tourism sector faced this year, he was optimistic about the current high season and was hopeful for a year-on-year increase in visitors.
“The weakening rand definitely boosts the local tourism sector as the exchange rate remains favourable to international visitors, who can then afford to spend more in the destination. Events like the Cape Town Rugby Sevens World Series tournament this past weekend, also assists greatly in attracting visitors to the Mother City.”
Deidré Davids, the spokeswoman at the Airports Company SA (Acsa), said Cape Town International Airport was an 8.3 million passenger airport and if the passenger growth remained this optimistic, it was highly likely that the airport would pass the 9 million mark at the end of the month.
“In fact, if this strong growth continues, the airport looks set to pass the 10 million passenger mark next year this time.
“This is important and shows the development plans for the airport remain relevant, however, industry and regulatory approvals are key.”
She said total arrivals for last month grew by 13 percent compared to the same time last year and in October it grew by 10 percent for the same period, while domestic passenger arrivals grew by 12.55 percent and international arriving passengers grew by 8 percent.
“When foreign currencies strengthen against the rand we tend to see additional volumes as well as increased spend per passenger on the international front.
“While domestically the weakened rand negatively affects domestic travel and discretionary spend, it does have an upswing on the international front.”
MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde said in his monthly economic update of the province last week that he received positive reports from the Western Cape’s leading tourism players, and all indications point to a “phenomenal season”.
Winde said the Table Mountain Cableway recorded a year-on-year increase in October and last month, posting a 15 percent increase on their previous November record, while Kirstenbosch Gardens has seen a major increase in its numbers following the introduction of the Boomslang last year.
“More than 500 000 people have already visited the attraction in this financial year.”
Winde added that many establishments were seeing year-on-year decreases prior to the revision of the visa regulations and he was pleased the national government heeded concerns before the traditional peak season. “With these revisions in place, we now can work towards reversing the downward trends we’ve seen since May.”