Cape Town is the top destination for those looking for rich culture, fun, adventure or a tantalising journey of diverse cuisine, and visitors will now hear all about it on land, at sea and in the air with the City’s exciting new destination campaign.
Last week  the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos launched Choose Cape Town, an immersive new destination marketing campaign at the Cape Town International Airport.
‘Choose ocean adventure, choose colourful culture, choose majestic mountains, choose wine wonders! CHOOSE CAPE TOWN!’
This is some of the messaging travellers from around the world will hear as they lift off with Kenya Airways to over 40 destinations; or when they open SAA’s onboard magazine, Sawubona; or as they take off on SAA’s first direct flight from São Paulo to Cape Town in October.
But it’s a lot more than a destination campaign. Choose Cape Town is also a call to action for companies to set up shop and invest in the metro, said Alderman Vos.
‘This speaks to my mission to help create a tourism-related job in every household in Cape Town. Tourism is responsible for injecting billions of rands into our local economy and employing hundreds of thousands of Capetonians. This industry drives numerous affiliate industries such as transportation, food and beverages, accommodation and retail,’ he explained.
There are five plot points to the tourism-related jobs drive: aviation, cruise travel, events and conferences, product development, and destination marketing, said Alderman Vos.
Value of tourism
The Western Cape aviation sector injected R41 billion into the provincial economy in 2022 alone and supported over 9 500 jobs, with 145 international flights currently landing every week.
‘This means that for every 100 inbound international passengers travelling to Cape Town, R2,1 million is generated in direct tourism spend, supporting one local job. In addition, the same 100 passengers support the movement of R1,4 million worth of air cargo for the province.
‘Turning towards the seas, I am very happy to say that the establishment of our dedicated Cruise Cape Town initiative located within Wesgro to help position the metro as a perfect place for ocean-bound tourism, has resulted in incredible returns,’ said Alderman Vos.
For the past cruise season, 70 ships docked in Cape Town, resulting in over 145 000 passengers and 42 000 crew passing through the Cape Town Cruise Terminal. There are also already 59 ship visits booked for the 2023/24 season, with more to come.
On the exhibitions and conferences front, the Cape Town International Convention Centre alone hosted 427 events between July 2022 and June 2023 financial year, which was attended by 274 880 guests.
‘Research shows that delegates spend between R3 200 and R6 400 per day during their stays so these gatherings really do generate billions of rands for Cape Town and thousands of jobs. And I’m really excited about the CTICC aiming for a further 500+ events in the next financial year.
‘This all goes to show the power of tourism in stimulating the economy, which is why we are positioning our SMMEs and tourism operators in the best way to receive the business coming into Cape Town.
‘We do this via platforms such as our Business Helpdesk and also through partners such as Cape Town Tourism (CTT), our official Destination Marketing Organisation,’ said Alderman Vos.
For example, CTT hosts the eKasi Industry Development Sessions which have provided invaluable training, guidance and networking opportunities for local businesses.
The Neighbourhood Experience Development training manual is also a fantastic, free resource to help guide SMMEs in developing their businesses and to encourage neighbourhood readiness.
The City and Cape Town Tourism are also safety orientated in this endeavour to bring people to Cape Town’s shores. Its Travelwise resource provides visitors with the most up-to-date safety information, emergency contact numbers and safety tips while out and about in the Mother City.
‘There’s so much to be excited about in Cape Town as Tourism Month kicks off – including officially launching the new This is Cape Town magazine featuring a mix of articles on why people should Visit, Live, Work (from), Study, Play and Invest in Cape Town – so let’s go out there and encourage everyone to Choose Cape Town. Let’s show the world why Cape Town is the best city on the planet,’ said Alderman Vos.
Source: City of Cape Town
