Nominated and judged by airlines, the World Routes ceremony is highly regarded in the aviation industry for recognising the outstanding marketing services that have supported the launch of new air routes or the development of existing services.
Walking away with the Destination award was the Canary Island Tourist Board – Promotur, which oversaw a record 151 new routes in 2017.
Cape Town Air Access was shortlisted for the prestigious award following their win at Routes Africa 2018, where the team was awarded best Destination Marketing award as well as the overall Routes Africa award.
Since its inception in 2015, the CTAA team has assisted in the establishment of 13 new routes and the expansion of 18 exiting routes. During this period, more than 750 000 inbound seats were added to its international network.
“We are most proud of this latest accolade to be attributed to our Cape Town Air Access Team, and would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners Bradley Brouwer from South African Tourism, Enver Duminy from Cape Town Tourism, Deon Cloete from Airports Company South Africa, Lance Greyling from the City of Cape Town and Rashid Toefy from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism – for their unwavering support.
The Cape Town Air Access initiative is a prime example of the potential that can be achieved when collaboration takes place across government and the private sector. We look forward to continuing to secure new direct routes and expand on existing routes,” commented Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
Brussels Airport was named the Overall Winner and also won the 20-50 Million Passengers category. Despite being located in the most competitive region of Europe, the airport managed to pass the 25 million passenger mark for the first time in its history.
Cape Town International Airport’s General Manager Deon Cloete congratulated the team saying: “Cape Town Air Access Air Access is a sterling example of the power of collaboration. The recent global recognition is testament to the fact that it has become a formidable global player. Our beautiful City, especially the Tourism industry has yielded significant benefit since its inception in 2015. Within the airport context we will continue to play our role by ensuring that we facilitate air access into the region. We remain committed to delivering a quality experience with world class infrastructure. Airports Company South Africa is proud to be a part of the Air Access initiative and we extend our congratulations to the Wesgro led team and all the other partners that work hard to ensure that we are visible on the international stage - we look forward to working even harder to connect Cape Town and the Western Cape at large to the world.”
Executive Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille said: “The City of Cape Town is proud of this achievement and of Cape Town Access’ accomplishment illustrates how we can deliver on our goals to create a globally competitive city if all three spheres of government and the private sector work together. The growth of this partnership over the last two years has been encouraging especially with Air Access successfully attracting more flights and seating capacity between African cities and the world. As the City of Cape Town, we are committed to continuing this partnership and further competing with the best globally.”
“The Cape Town Air Access team, a collaboration between government and the private sector, have changed the game in terms of accessibility to our destination. Their relentless pursuit of direct flights to Cape Town has yielded the addition of 1.5 million two way seats, bringing job-creating tourists to our region. I am thrilled that we have secured this accolade, and congratulate the team and our partners in this project for their hard work,” concluded the Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde.
Wesgro is Cape Town and the Western Cape's official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and receives its mandate and funding from the Western Cape Government's Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town.
Issued by Wesgro Media Team, 18 September 2018