After two years of rolling pauses, Cruise Cape Town says that it is delighted that a total of 104 ship visits, made up of 26 cruise ships carrying more than 195,000 visitors, will be expected to dock at the Port of Cape Town Cruise Terminal over the upcoming 2022/23 season, which kicks off in October. With almost R100m in total estimated passenger spend per port visit – an estimated R20m for international passengers and R45m for domestic passengers - Cruise Cape Town is also expecting a number of jobs to be created in both downstream and upstream industries.
"The importance of the Cape Town cruise stopover to the tourism sector and marketing of the destination cannot be underestimated. The resumption of cruise this year, while largely local is a positive direction to a full recovery with real prospects of us returning to our pre covid growth with international travellers later this year. We have successfully integrated the Cruise Terminal into our service amenities such as hotels, attractions, and retail offerings and we are eagerly looking forward to showcasing the best the waterfront has to offer," adds David Green, CEO of the V&A Waterfront.
"These economic benefits arise from a number of sources, such as the spending power by passengers and crew, shore-side staffing for tour operations, spending for goods and services necessary for cruise operations, and spending for port services and maintenance. This is why the City has its pooled resources with sector stakeholders."
Mireille Wenger, minister of finance and economic opportunities for the Western Cape concludes: "I am very pleased to see the green shoots of recovery in cruise tourism because it is such an important part of the Western Cape’s tourism eco-system. Cruise ships, their staff and their guests contribute significantly to our provincial economy and sustain jobs across the entire tourism value chain. This is why I am committed to working closely with Wesgro to ensure that we attract even more cruise ships to Cape Town, to grow our economy and create many more jobs in the Western Cape."