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Cape Town - The Western Cape has entered an exciting period, Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde said on Tuesday.
"At a range of key attractions across the region, nine of out ten reported record visitor numbers for the 2016 peak season, and we’ve seen positive numbers from national and city reports," he said at a briefing.
"These increases speak to the emergence of the Western Cape as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations, on the back of a new, focused approach to growing tourism, and a surge in private sector investment in hospitality infrastructure."
The Western Cape has prioritised tourism through its Project Khulisa growth strategy. The goal is to add up to 100 000 additional jobs to the tourism sector.
Improving air access is one of our foremost Project Khulisa initiatives. Since July last year, the province has secured an additional 500 000 direct two-way airline seats to the province.
Earlier in January the Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) achieved 10 million passengers in a calendar year. Over the next three years, CTIA will commit R3.6bn to the realignment of the runway, and significant investment into the expansion of its international and domestic terminals.
Among the highlights for the tourism sector were 30 conference bids secured in the 2015/16 financial year; Wesgro supported 35 events which attracted 100 000 visitors; foreign tourist numbers grew at 29.8% year-on-year in December; and major attractions achieved growth of 19.8% between 2013 and 2016.
Other highlights mentioned were Marriott International's announcement last year that, in partnership with Amdec, it will invest R2bn to develop three new properties in Cape Town. Tsogo Sun is currently adding 500 rooms to accommodation in Cape Town central through the opening of a R680m hotel.
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has also invested significantly into our province. The group has launched the Radisson Red at the V&A Waterfront’s Silo District and the Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence at the old Triangle House Building.
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