Cape tourism booms in 2018

Last year, 2.6-million international passengers were recorded by Cape Town International Airport, representing a 9.6% growth from 2017, despite the drought and other problems experienced by the region, the City of Cape Town said yesterday.

“This growth came from longhaul carriers from outside the Southern African region and the uptick bodes well for the local economy,” said mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management James Vos.

Overall passenger numbers grew from 10 693 063 in 2017, to 10 777 524 in 2018, a growth rate of 0.8%. There was a decline of 1.4% in domestic passengers for the year.

In December, international passenger numbers grew by 3.7%, while domestic passenger numbers declined by 0.8% year-onyear, he said.

These numbers included all traffic through the domestic and international terminals (arrivals and departures) and may have included repeat travellers throughout the year.

“More visitors mean increased benefits for the city and its residents,” Vos said.

Wesgro chief executive Tim Harris said: “The Cape Town Air Access initiative, a partnership between the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape government, Airports Company South Africa, Wesgro, Cape Town Tourism, South African Tourism and the private sector, has helped land 13 new routes to Cape Town International Airport, adding over 1.5 million two-way seats to our destination. This has resulted in a R6-billion boost to our economy since 2015.”

Cape Town, with its iconic tourist attractions is a wellknown destination globally.

For the 17th year, the city was voted the number one favourite city in Africa and the Middle East for 2018 in Travel & Leisure’s 2018 readers’ poll and scooped the award for the city with the best growth potential.

Cape Town International Airport won the award for Africa’s leading airport in 2018.

“These awards, among a host of other accolades, acknowledge our efforts and signify a turn for tourism in Cape Town,” Vos said.