City airport records more foreign tourists
A 20% increase in international visitors will help boost province’s economy
CAPE Town International Airport recorded a 20% year-onyear increase in international passengers last year. According to data from the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), Cape Town’s airport recorded a total of 10.7 million domestic and international passengers last year, representing an 6% increase from 2016.
The new record for the airport has been achieved because of a phenomenal 20% year-on-year increase in international passengers. In 2016, 1.9 million international passengers were recorded at the airport and last year the figure increased to a record 2.3 million international passengers, an increase of nearly half a million.
Cape Town Air Access, a partnership between Wesgro, the Western Cape government, the City of Cape Town, Acsa, Cape Town Tourism and SA Tourism, welcomed the excellent results.
With 13 new routes landed since the project began in 2015 and 14 route expansions in the same period, over 1.5 million seats (both directions) have been added to Cape Town, which is helping turn the city into an important airline hub on the continent, boosting economic growth and job creation in the province.
Tim Harris, the chief executive of Wesgro, said the benefits of this record-breaking achievement for the Western Cape economy could not be overstated.
“More passengers to Cape Town International Airport means more tourists, business and leisure, to the Western Cape and South Africa. This will add tens of billions to the Cape economy, and help sustain nearly 300 000 (direct and indirect) jobs in the Western Cape alone.”
Harris added that international tourists only added about 1% to the population of the province during peak season and all tourists who visited the province must adhere to water restrictions and help save water.
“The feedback we have received from local tourism offices has been positive. Many tourists have enthusiastically contributed to the water-saving initiative over the last few months,” said Harris.
Cape Town International Airport general manager Deon Cloete said that for the first time in a calendar year, the airport had seen more than two million international passengers coming to Cape Town.
“This positions us well in triggering the investment programme that will be undertaken in the near future. We aim to complete significant projects such as the realignment of the runway, Terminal 2 and the New Domestic Arrivals area.”
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the figures were as a result of a deliberate, sustained focus on growing tourism to the province.
“The tourism sector is one of the fastest growing in our province, aided by more direct flights as a result of our collaborative Air Access project. Each passenger that comes through our airport contributes to creating a new job for a resident. Tourism has the power to change lives by giving people opportunities for employment.”