06-09-2017
Wesgro, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, is encouraged by yet another excellent performance by the Western Cape in Stats SA’s latest Domestic Tourism Survey (DTS).
According to Stats SA, 'the DTS is a large-scale household survey aimed at collecting accurate statistics on the travel behaviour and expenditure of South African residents travelling within the borders of the country.'
The Western Cape achieved significant successes over the survey period, coming out top in the following important categories:
• More than 1.1 million overnight leisure trips
• 166 000 overnight business trips
• 4.1 million paid bed nights
• 241 000 tourists who stayed in hotels
• 161 000 who stayed in guesthouse/guest farms
• 157 000 tourists who stayed in B&Bs
• 336 000 tourists who stayed in self-catering establishments
The Western Cape was also the only province in which holidays was the most stated reason for travel amongst both day and overnight trips during the survey period, while visiting friends and relatives was the second-most commonly stated purpose to visit the province.
Further, 99.2% of day travellers and 69.9% of overnight travellers to the Western Cape originated from the province. Despite economic challenges, the Western Cape domestic market continues to travel within the province, sustaining the value of the local economy.
“These excellent results bode well for further investment in the tourism industry, as there is continued demand for hotels, guest-houses, B&Bs and self-catering establishments. This has a multiplier effect on the local economy, and will lead to further construction, and job creation,” said Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
For more information about what visitors to the Western Cape can do this Tourism Month, visit http://goto.capetown/home.