Cape Town to upgrade harbour for cruise tourism

May 7th, 2011 by H&R | Categories: industry, tourism

Cape Town is considering upgrading facilities at its harbour to better accommodate cruiseliners in the near future, say tourism authorities.

“In terms of marketing, the city is perfectly positioned to serve as a sea and safari destination. Cape Town is widely considered as a gateway to Africa, so it would make sense that cruises originate from here and go up either the West or East coast of the continent. This illustrates the tourism industry’s capacity for expansion, which leads to economic growth and creates much needed jobs. Cruise tourism should definitely be pursued as it will open up a whole new market for Cape Town and the Western Cape,” comments Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU).

According to Theuns Vivian, destination development manager for the City of Cape Town, the city has the potential for cruise tourism. “Not only does the Western Cape offer the iconic port of Cape Town, it also provides access to the Cape West Coast and Cape Garden Route via the ports of Saldanha and Mossel Bay respectively. The prospects for cruise tourism on the whole look good.”

Cruise tourism is big business. According to a joint study by GP Wild Limited and Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA), cruise passengers in 2008 spent an estimated €2.7-billion (more than R26-billion) across Europe in purchases during their port visits, ranging from accommodation to retail purchases of jewellery, clothing and other similar items.

Cruise tourism in the southern Indian Ocean will come under the spotlight next week at the first ever Seatrade Africa Cruise Forum (10-12 May) at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort. David Frandsen, executive manager: international marketing and the Cape Town Convention Bureau will represent CTRU at this event.

“This is an exciting opportunity to interact directly with major global cruise operators in terms of their expectations around the establishment of Cape Town and the southern Indian Ocean as the world’s newest cruise destination,” says Frandsen.