Emergence of a glimmer of hope for the travel sector. Picture: David Ritchie African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - With September being Tourism Month, projections show that the country’s tourism industry is bouncing back from the pandemic-induced catastrophe that catalysed the downward trajectory of the sector due to travel restrictions.
This comes after a 2020 tourism report released by Statistics SA indicated that foreign arrivals dropped by 71% from just over 15.8 million in 2019 to less than 5 million in 2020.
Figures from the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) indicated that for August 2019 and 2022 there was 67% recovery for domestic passenger volumes and an 83% volume recovery for international and regional passengers.
Looking forward, Cape Town International Airport regional manager Mark Maclean said that the total passenger volumes recovery for the end of October to end March 2023 is projected to be 77%, while the domestic passenger volumes recovery for the end of October to the end of March 2023 is projected to be 78%, and the international passenger volumes recovery for the end of October to the end March 2023 is 75%.
“Optimistic new airlines that will start from the end October include the German airline Condor, which will be resuming operations on the 2nd of November, with three flights per week. Emirate flights will also double up flights daily as they commence operations in November, and the United States legacy carrier Delta will start operations on December 3 with the frequencies of flights being three per week,” said Maclean.
South African Tourism chief operations officer Nomasonto Ndlovu said that while international arrivals are still 54% below 2019 levels, there has been a steady improvement from January to June 2022.
“The total arrivals for January to June 2022 were 2 285 746. This was a 147% increase from January to June of the previous year. This means January to June 2022 represented 45% of 2019 and 55% below 2019 levels. The biggest market in terms of absolute numbers was the African Land markets; these markets had a 109% increase in arrivals compared to the same period in 2021. The Africa Land markets brought in 1 634 244 arrivals. Arrivals from the Americas increased by 331% and represented 128 991 arrivals.
“Europe had the most considerable percentage increase in arrivals of 563%. The total number of European arrivals from January to June 2022 was 356 352. Nevertheless, African Land arrivals still account for the bulk of arrivals to South Africa. Europe is the second biggest region for arrivals this year, followed by the Americas,” said Ndlovu.
According to Cape Town Tourism, the occupancy in December 2021 as per the Cape Town Tourism Accommodation report was 57.2%, which was an increase from 2020’s 39.9%.
Wesgro’s July 2022 report indicated that 14 out of the 25 attractions exceeded their July 2019 visitor numbers, with recovery rates of more than 200% achieved at the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Kogelberg Nature Reserve and Knysna National Park.
MEC for finance and economic opportunities Mireille Wenger said that the key focus of the tourism strategy will now be for the Western Cape to match the increase in recovery rates for international visitors, with an increase in domestic tourism recovery rates.
“I am very thrilled that passengers through George Airport have essentially fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching a recovery rate of 99%. I met with the management of the George Airport and heard that between January and March of this year, an impressive 190 000 passengers passed through the airport and that they have exceeded their capacity and hope to implement expansion plans over the next few years,” said Wenger.
She added that going forward, a key message to South Africans is to explore the remarkable beauty the province has on offer.
“The tourism and hospitality sector contributes significantly to our economy. In fact, in 2019, the gross value added by this sector was R15.5 billion and supported 174 982 direct jobs, which does not even consider indirect jobs created across the entire tourism value chain. We have everything we need to not only recover to pre-pandemic levels, but to far exceed them, boosting our economy and creating many more jobs for residents in the Western Cape,” said Wenger.
In a recent sit-down with the US group headed by the Houston International Trade Development Council, Mayco member for economic opportunities and asset management James Vos sought to discuss the local business environment and what can be done to work towards prospective investment agreements.
In hopes of building a stronger and more resilient and inclusive economy, Vos said that the city is aiming to forge stronger relations with partners in key source markets for the furtherance of investment and trade opportunities.
“Last year, the US ranked as the province’s biggest export market, with Cape products valued at nearly R17bn making their way into the US. This is up 57.5% from 2020. The US additionally ranks as one of the Cape’s biggest sources of foreign direct investment. Cape Town can very much further capitalise on the clear global appetite for our products and services. These initiatives show that we are continuously working to make Cape Town the easiest and best place to do business which will, in turn, help more Capetonians access jobs and be more active role-players in the economy,” said Vos.