Cape Town - The April 2022 tourism performance statistics report by Wesgro points to a solid recovery for the Western Cape’s tourism and hospitality sector over the Easter season.
Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC Mireille Wenger on Tuesday said air passenger traffic was on the rise, and the April 2022 monthly report reflected significant recovery rates at key attractions, with some attractions recording rates of 100% and more.
According to the data, international and domestic terminal passengers both recovered to over 70% in April 2022, and George Airport passengers fully recovered (101%) when compared to April 2019.
Hotel occupancy grew from 37.9% in April 2021 to 52.4% in April 2022, representing a recovery rate of 87% when compared to April 2019.
Visitors to the 27 participating attractions recorded a total of 448 347 in April 2022, a 67% year-on-year growth in the number of visitors and a recovery rate of 61% when compared to April 2019 (734,850).
The top 5 highest year-on-year growth rates were recorded for Agulhas National Park (+705%), Kogelberg Nature Reserve (+167%), Table Mountain National Park: Boulders (+159%), Robben Island (+145%) and Stony Point (+112%).
Natural attractions, particularly Table Mountain, Cape Point, Hottentots Hollandberge, Knysna Heads and the Southern Tip of Africa, were popular among both domestic and international tourists.
“It’s very encouraging to see that Cape Town and the Western Cape remains a popular destination for international tourists and businesspeople, highlighted by the significant increase in local and international flights recently. We’ve seen a number of routes come online, particularly with increases in frequencies for the upcoming South African summer season.
“Our Cape Town Air Access Team has recovered 21 destinations in its route network, and we have also seen a significant interest in establishing routes between Cape Town and new markets such as the USA and Belgium. We remain hopeful that there will continue to be an upward trajectory for travel to our destination,” said Wesgro chief executive and official spokesperson for Cape Town Air Access, Wrenelle Stander.
Cape Times