THE immense growth in
international arrivals to
Cape Town is unravelling.
Forward bookings between
April and September
are down 30% to 50%,
according to a Wesgro
survey among 18 top
hotels in Cape Town and
top inbound tour operators
servicing the market. “The
concern around 2019 is
that the people are telling
us that their books are
empty compared with last
year,” says Wesgro chief
marketing officer, Judy Lain.
International arrivals to
South Africa over the last
two years grew 18% and
7% respectively. However
Satsa ceo, David Frost,
points out that, while
arrivals showed strong
growth in the first half of
2017, growth in the second
half was flat and arrivals
from the UK, South Africa’s
biggest overseas market,
were down 2% for the last
quarter.
“The danger – and
we can already see the
bookings declining – is
that we become a difficult
destination to do business
with,” says David.
He points out that the
dip is the result of a
combination of factors,
including a strengthened
exchange rate; high pricing
on the back of strong
demand; concerns around
water, listeriosis and land
reform; as well as the VAT
increase.
When TNW asked airlines
whether the fall-off in
forward bookings would
impact their services to
Cape Town, no carriers
said they had plans to alter
Cape Town schedules at
present.
