Good news for South African tourism; with Cape Town and the Western Cape taking the cake

At a time when an economic  slowdown has affected various sectors worldwide, it would have been logical to expect a decrease in the tourism sector as well. But the opposite has happened in South Africa – statistics have shown an impressive increase in visitors over the December 2011 holiday period.

Reports revealed a vast increase in foreign tourists arriving in South Africa in December 2011 compared to the same time a year before. According to the Department of Home Affairs, 2.5 million foreigners entered the country during this month, with most visitors coming from the UK, USA and Germany.

When one considers that this was the year after the country hosted the 2011 Soccer World Cup, then an increase in tourism is a remarkable feat by any standards!

Most of the travellers who came to South Africa in December travelled to the Western Cape, traditionally one of the country’s top holiday destinations for domestic and international arrivals. In a statement released by the province, Western Cape Tourism Minister, Alan Winde said the province had seen a 17% increase in the number of international visitors arriving at Cape Town International during the past holiday season.

Regional travel to the province increased by 26% and even domestic arrivals increased by almost 5%. During the whole year, there was a growth of just over 4% in terms of passengers arriving at the airport.

The Western Cape’s top tourist attractions also saw an increase in the amount of visitors. The top destinations according to the numbers of visitors were:

    •    The Table Mountain Cableway
    •    Cape Point
    •    Kirstenbosch Gardens

There was a decrease, however, in the visitors going to Robben Island – which could be attributed to a host of problems besieging this World Heritage Site. Bad service, infrastructure problems as well as difficulties with staff on the island seem to have had an effect on travel to the island.

On the upside, travellers showed more interest in attractions outside of Cape Town, with the following areas attracting a significant increase in visitors:


    •    De Hoop Nature Reserve
    •    Arniston
    •    Napier 

Outside of Cape Town, the Winelands was the most popular region to visit. More than half of the foreign travellers to Cape Town had travelled to this region.  

The increase in tourism to Cape Town and surrounding areas has been attributed to a few factors, like the fact that the city won the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Number 1 Destination of 2011. The city was also chosen as the World Design Capital for 2014 and its glorious Table Mountain was voted as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
Lonely Planet also named Cape Town as one of the world’s top ten beach cities. Exclusive travel magazine Conde Naste mentioned Cape Town as the top city to visit in Africa and the Middle East and Huffington Post also said it was in the top ten most popular cities in which to study abroad.

By Andrea Botha