The tourism sector in the Western Cape continues to grow as more visitors flock to the province, bringing economic and job-creating benefits.
This is according to the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) tourism, trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro with findings that stated, that the number of visitors to the province between January and April 2024 increased by 17% compared to the same period last year.
This translates to over three million visitors who visited the 53 participating attractions across the six regions of the Western Cape.
The provincial minister of finance and economic opportunities, Mireille Wenger said: “I always look forward to receiving these monthly reports as they contain such promising news of growth, that I know will translate into benefits and jobs for residents across the Western Cape.”
The top five participating Western Cape attractions with the highest volume of visitors between January and April 2024 were:
- Table Mountain National Park (1 176 683)
- Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (425 515)
- Table Mountain National Park: Cape of Good Hope (371 620)
- Table Mountain National Park: Boulders (319 766)
- Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (251 301)
The top five outdoor attractions to record the highest year-on-year growth rates between January and April 2024:
- Stony Point Eco Venue (383%)
- De Hoop Nature Reserve (331%)
- Walker Bay Nature Reserve (224%)
- Kogelberg Nature Reserve (202%)
- Swartberg Nature Reserve (169%)
Furthermore, total tourist arrivals to Cape Town International Airport via air maintained a positive trend into the second quarter of 2024, with a 13% year-on-year increase between January and April.
Most international arrivals during this period were from the United Kingdom (UK), followed by Germany, United States of America (USA), Netherlands and France.
A strong European presence was recorded during the first four months of 2024, of which seven out of 10 source markets originated from the continent.
The top air market from Africa to Cape Town was led by Namibia, followed by Zimbabwe, Angola, Kenya and Mozambique.
In addition, George Airport’s passenger movement recovered by 98%, recording 264 571 two-way passengers between January and April 2024.
“Together with Wesgro and our partners across the sector, we are determined to boost this incredible sector. We have just opened applications for the Province’s 2024 Tourism Growth Fund, which will provide project funding to qualifying organisations for tourism development, tourism infrastructure, and tourism product development.
“This will assist businesses to expand their already impressive offerings as well as further develop tourism infrastructure, to support the growth of the number of visitors to the Western Cape,” said Mireille.
She added that the growth in the tourism sector is promising that the WCG’s ambitious goal set out in their economic action plan, ‘Growth For Jobs’ (G4J) is starting to deliver practical results.
“G4J aims to double the number of visitors to the province by 2035 to enable a R1 trillion, jobs-rich, inclusive, diverse, and resilient provincial economy that is growing at between 4% and 6% in real terms. Together, we can realise this vision across the economy, to lift many more residents from poverty into prosperity,” she said.
Completed by Ilze-Mari Van Zyl
First published by Cape Town etc
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