Most of the top attractions reported excellent growth with Cape Point leading the way at 20% YOY with 1,173,236 visitors, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway with 1,167,598 visitors and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden at 980,168 visitors. December, unsurprisingly, remained the peak month for the attractions.
Cape Town International Airport surpassed the five million arrivals mark for the reporting period and demonstrated excellent growth overall. Arrivals on international flights were the hero story, recording a 25% growth year-on-year (YOY).
To stay at the forefront of the global tourism landscape, Cape Town Tourism rolled out a refreshed brand identity from May 2016. Extensive research, reviews of best practice, rigorous process and a lot of heart went into the development of a brand that is both representative of the organisation and the city’s vibrant, creative personality.
A central part of the brand reinvention was the creation of the new Cape Town Tourism website, the first mobile-first Destination Management Organisation (DMO) website on the continent – this puts information straight into the hands of visitors, according to their preferences and needs. The website, as announced by leading travel publication Skift, has been well-received and is keeping ahead of digital trends. The website was chosen as one of the top 25 DMO websites in the world for being user-friendly and making great use of video content to showcase the Travel Like a Local trend within neighbourhoods.
Tackling seasonality in tourism head-on with a campaign devised to drive low-season traffic, The Love Cape Town City Breaks Campaign: The Hello Weekend campaign, in its second year running this fiscal, is geared to attract domestic visitors to Cape Town over winter by offering them value-driven packages and unique itinerary ideas that cater for particular preferences, such as outdoor experiences, sport, food, shopping, etc. In partnership with Kulula.com, the campaign elicited a 290% YOY increase in Kulula.com package sales mainly from Johannesburg and Kwazulu-Natal to Cape Town.
The organisation has partnered with CrescentRating, the world’s leading authority on Halal travel and a globally recognised independent rating and accreditation service for Halal-friendly travel services. CrescentRating has run workshops and training sessions to create awareness and help prepare local tourism businesses to unlock the potential within the Halal travel market. A chef exchange programme has also been initiated to boost awareness and skills development for local establishments on catering for Halal travel.
While growth in the sector is noteworthy, at all times messaging and constructive actions in response to water shortages must be addressed by businesses and individuals in tourism.
“With consistent visitor growth and development of products and experiences across the city, we see many more opportunities before us. With growth in tourism comes the responsibility to all of us to ensure that water savings measures are taken, from prominent messaging to practical solutions, to promote the ongoing sustainability of the sector. Whether we are supporting emerging businesses or sharing our love for Cape Town around the world, Cape Town Tourism will continue to tell the Cape Town story to reach new audiences and continue our promise,” said Enver Duminy, Cape Town Tourism CEO.
• Grant Newton, global sales and marketing manager (Wine and Tourism) – Groot Constantia - re-elected. Grant is respected in the industry and acknowledged for his passion for tourism and wine. His experience over the last 27 years is vast with the last 17 years primarily in senior and executive management roles in the wine, tourism, food and hospitality industries. Grant has served for three years on the board.
• Alushca Ritchie, owner - Cape Connection – re-elected. Her active involvement in tourism-related initiatives and organisations such as; SMME projects including responsible and sustainable tourism, Women in Tourism WC chapter, SKAL Committee member, wine and gastronomy tourism, rail tourism, mentorship programmes, travelling media and as a SAQA accredited facilitator, assessor and moderator. She has served three years on the Board of Cape Town Tourism.
• Wahida Parker, managing director – Table Mountain Aerial Company - elected. Wahida has gained extensive knowledge about the hospitality and tourism industry. She joined Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company in 2016, moving into a bigger tourism landscape in the same year that marked unprecedented success for the Cableway, having achieved nine record months for the year.
View the Cape Town Tourism Annual Report for further information.
