Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Music event strikes a lucrative chord for city’s coffers
THE CAPE Town International Jazz Festival brings in about R700 million to the city’s economy, according to Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy.
Moreover, he said, this had grown along with attendance.
“The jazz festival is one of the city’s biggest annual events, with approximately 37 000 visitors.
“It is recognised as the fourth largest jazz festival in the world and the largest jazz festival on the African continent.
“In 2000, the festival’s inaugural year, around 14 000 people attended and this grew to 32 000 in 2013, so there’s still steady growth,” Duminy said.
The event’s organisers said the event employed nearly 3 300 employees.
Janine Myburgh, Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said the event should be seen as one of the many forms of event tourism promoted in Cape Town.
She said the cycle tour and the Two Oceans ultra-marathon attracted thousands of visitors each year and were a huge boost for the tourism industry.
“The important thing is that these events fall outside the peak tourist season when there is a natural holiday flow of visitors to the city. In effect, these special events extend the tourism season and a longer season is a better season,” she said.
“At present we also have the Cape Epic and the cricket Test at Newlands and they also draw visitors. In fact, Cape Town offers double value as tourists can watch the cricket during the day and the jazz concerts at night.
“These events attract different kind of tourists so Cape Town really does have something for everyone.”
Meanwhile, there is more jazz in the region.
Today, as part of Earth Hour commemorations there is a jazz performance at the Silo District at the V&A Waterfront, outside The Yard. The Muneeb Hermans Quartet and The Dixie Swingers will be performing. The Mos Jazz Festival, which started on Thursday, takes place in Mossel Bay at De Bakke Santos Beach. It will have performances this weekend from Signature SA, Ramon Alexander, G Minor, Jeodhouse, Jonathan Rubain, Judith Sephuma, Heart & Soul and Selwyn Bartlett. The show runs until tomorrow. Tickets range from R150 to R400.