- The Western Cape pavilion at this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban showcased the very best our region has to offer for travellers from South Africa, the rest of Africa, and the world
- Cape Town and the Western Cape continues to enjoy an uptick in tourism numbers, with CTIA domestic terminal having recorded a 75% recovery rate over the Easter season while the international terminal saw an amazing 76% recovery in April this year
- The Western Cape pavilion took home the innovation award
Wesgro, alongside scores of delegates from around the world, converged on the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre Complex in Durban to showcase to various exhibitors and travel trade buyers from across Africa and the world what the Western Cape has to offer to the leisure and business traveller.
Africa’s Travel Indaba - one of the largest tourism marketing exhibitions on the African calendar - took place 2-5 May 2022 and showcased the widest variety of Africa’s best tourism products and attracted international buyers and media from across the world. The event returned after a 2-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wesgro exhibitors included Club Mykonos Langebaan, Drakenstein Muncipality, Franschhoek Wine Valley, NAC Helicopters Cape Town, Overstrand Municipality, Cape Town Tourism, Witzenberg Tourism/Tulbagh Tourism, The Taj Cape Town, Visit Knysna, Visit Stellenbosch, Garden Route District Municipality, Lion Roars Hotels and Lodges, The Liz McGrath Collection, Gondwana Game Reserve, George Wilderness and Uniondale Tourism who all endeavoured to cement the Western Cape’s place among the leading tourism and business events destination at this year’s event.
Wesgro continues to ensure that Cape Town and the Western Cape is top of mind as a destination of choice in a post-pandemic world; additionally the Western Cape has continued to enjoy a significant uptick in tourism numbers across the board in recent months.
Notably, in April this year, the Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) domestic terminal had a 75% recovery rate compared to the same month in 2019, with 539 000 passengers, while the international terminal saw an phenomenal 76% recovery for April, compared to the same month in 2019. This is up from 61% in March and 52% in February. In addition, George Airport overtook the 2019 figures in April with a 101% recovery in passengers.
Additionally, feedback obtained from 74 tourism businesses across the Western Cape indicate towards a better Easter season than the previous year. Many towns across the province were bustling with a lot events and activities, and many local tourists. According to Cape Town and the Western Cape ‘Tourism Research Overview’, visitors recorded over the 2022 Easter weekend mainly originated from the local and domestic markets.
Two thirds of respondents said that the majority of their visitors were domestic and 8% said that they had mostly international visitors, while a further 24% said that they had an equal amount of domestic and international visitors. This is in line with passenger movement through Cape Town International Airport, which saw 77% domestic and 23% international passengers over the first 3 weeks of April 2022.
Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander said: “We are extremely proud to have once again showcased the Western Cape's competitive offering to key markets at this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba. The Western Cape offers a diverse range of experiences for tourists and our exhibitors at this year’s stand successfully demonstrated this. We are also pleased that both international and domestic passenger arrivals at the Cape Town International Airport continue to show signs of recovery. After having successfully activated this year’s Indaba, we hope to see this trend continue throughout 2022 and beyond.”