Tourism partnership to boost local economy
THE co-marketing agreement between the City of Cape Town Council and New York City in the US, is expected to increase the demand for travel between the two cities and assist in attracting foreign direct investment into Cape Town.
Mayoral committee member for economic opportunities James Vos said the partnership received an extra boost with the recent announcement of a direct flight between Cape Town and New York, which will be introduced later this year.
“Earlier this week, I visited Cape Town International Airport with Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy to view the branding that forms part of a campaign installation in promoting a partnership between Cape Town and New York City.
“The co-marketing agreement between the two global tourism giants is spearheaded by the respective destination marketing companies, Cape Town Tourism and NYC and Company,” he said.
The agreement has seen the destinations collaborating by using their respective resources to market each other. Cape Town’s many attractions are displayed on bus shelters and kiosks across New York’s five districts to introduce US locals to the Mother City. Similarly, the Big Apple is highlighted to Capetonians and visitors through mobile information centres, branding on MyCiTi buses, various billboards in the Cape Town CBD, and extensive branding at the airport.
According to Duminy, the objective of this partnership, which started three years ago, was to increase the demand for travel between the two cities and ultimately for a direct flight between Cape Town and New York City.
He said in addition to marketing Cape Town as a tourism destination to the millions of New Yorkers and the millions more who visit the Big Apple, the partnership between Cape Town Tourism & NYC Company has been integral for access to the North American market.
The route will be a catalyst for economic growth in the city.
“We are gearing up for an additional 24 000 inbound passengers from the new direct route from New York, which will be serviced by United Air.
“Travellers from the US will grow by an estimated 20%, and about 900 jobs will be created during the first year. The flight will also contribute to a R421 million boost in tourism spend by 2021,” he said.
During the visit, Vos said, he was briefed by Deon Cloete, Cape Town International Airport general manager, on the progress of the R7 billion planned upgrades at the airport which will allow new direct international flights connecting Africa to the world.
Once completed, the new runway will have the capacity to handle 45 flights per hour.
The first direct flight from New York is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town on December 16.
The provisional plan is to provide three flights per week over the tourism high season in Cape Town, shaving four hours off the current travel time, according to Vos. |