- Today marks the start of the 2022/23 cruise season and Cruise Cape Town is expecting a strong recovery performance
- A total of 75 ship visits, made up of 26 cruise ships carrying more than 195 000 arriving visitors are expected to dock at the Port of Cape Town’s Cruise Terminal
- The purpose of Cruise Cape Town is to increase the cruise economy in Cape Town and the Western Cape, improve the Western Cape’s competitiveness in the cruise industry and support tourism in order to stimulate economic growth and job creation
Today, Cruise Cape Town, operated by Wesgro – the Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape - celebrated the start of the 2022/23 Cruise Season, the first full season in three years.
The official opening of the cruise season was marked by the arrival of the Hanseatic Spirit, from German-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, in the Port of Cape Town. This passenger cruise ship is visiting Cape Town for the first time, coinciding with the start of the cruise season.
Cruise Cape Town is expecting a robust cruise season this year, welcoming a total of 75 ship visits from 26 cruise ships carrying more than 195 000 visitors. With almost R100 million in total estimated passenger spend per port visit, Cruise Cape Town is also expecting a number of jobs to be created in both downstream and upstream industries.
Cruise tourism generates R300 million in annual economic impact and supports thousands of jobs in Cape Town and the Western Cape, and the start of the 2022/23 cruise season represents a significant milestone in realising Cruise Cape Town’s goal of capitalising on the growing global cruise tourism trend and growing the cruise economy in the Province.
“We are delighted to welcome our cruise partners back to Cape Town and the Western Cape as they help support the recovery of the travel and tourism industry in the Province," commented Wesgro CEO and official spokesperson for Cruise Cape Town, Wrenelle Stander. “Despite the numerous challenges over the past three years, cruise companies are viewing this restart as an opportunity to come back stronger and greener. The cruise industry is now very much focused on four strongly interconnected elements that will define the future of cruising and its resilience over time: environmental sustainability, modern infrastructures, a personalised customer experience through greater digitalisation, and a value creation-oriented relationship with local communities.”
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, welcomed the start of the cruise season saying: “We look forward to welcoming visitors arriving to the Western Cape. Expanding cruise tourism is another key opportunity to increase not only the number of visitors but also the benefits of this type of tourism. The opportunities go well beyond visitor spend and extend to resupplying the cruise ships with both goods and services and ship maintenance. I also welcome the recovery of cruise tourism with bookings in next years’ season growing beyond what was expected before the Covid-19 pandemic, which bodes well for economic growth and job creation in the Western Cape.”
David Green, CEO of the V&A Waterfront, said: "Against the dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain, Cape Town is one of the world’s most attractive ports to sail into. With the cruise industry making a comeback, the V&A Waterfront has continued to invest resources to enhance the visitor arrival and disembarkation experience at the terminal which has stimulated growth for the sector, setting us up to take an even more prominent position amongst world ports in this lucrative tourism industry. We are once more ready and confident to welcome back cruise operators and their passengers to our shores."
Alderman James Vos, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, said: “The City is excited to welcome the return of cruise travellers to Cape Town’s shores. This market of the tourism industry has long been prioritised by the City and the formation of a working group under the banner of Cruise Cape Town was part of our Tourism Development Framework in 2019 because we recognise the wide-reaching benefits in terms of businesses and jobs. The Cape is becoming a bucket-list destination for more and more ocean tourists with this becoming one of the fastest-growing markets in the tourism industry. With our world-class, unique cruise terminal and a variety of experiences for every type of traveller, Cape Town is ready for a bumper cruise season.”
About Cruise Cape Town:
The Cruise Cape Town Initiative is a strategic project housed within Wesgro – the Official Tourism, Trade and Investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape. It’s an impressive collaboration between government entities – City of Cape Town, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), Transnet Ports Authority (TNPA) and Wesgro – as well as a key private sector partner - the V&A Waterfront.
The purpose of the Initiative is to increase the cruise economy in Cape Town and the Western Cape. The Initiative aims to improve the Western Cape’s competitiveness in the cruise industry and to support tourism in order to stimulate economic growth and job creation.