Cape Town - The Western Cape’s hospitality and tourism sector has had a bumper festive season thanks to the weak rand and local visitors travelling within South Africa, say experts.
Danny Bryer, the director of sales for Protea Hotels, said the group had seen visitor numbers last month grow between 12 and 15 percent over the previous year at its properties in Cape Town and Durban.
“Numbers were boosted by local visitors travelling within South Africa, largely as a result of the drop in the value of our currency, which has made international travel more difficult for South Africans.”
Bryer added that the weak rand had helped to counter the potential impact of amended visa regulations that had discouraged some visitors.
His sentiments were echoed by Rob Kucera, the chairman of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa in the Cape and general manager of the Westin Cape Town.
Kucera said the hospitality sector had performed strongly over the last quarter of last year. “The entire hospitality industry has done well. We are looking at least 20 percent up from December 2014.”
He said the weak rand had made it cheaper for international visitors to travel to South Africa and more expensive for South Africans to travel abroad, resulting in more local visitors travelling within the country.
Kucera said that although this year would be tough from a broad economic point of view, it would be positive for the hospitality sector in Cape Town which would be boosted by a weak rand and many conferences.
Bruce Deneys, the director of sales and marketing at Pepperclub Hotel and Spa, said that while Cape Town had enjoyed a good festive season, he hoped revised visa rules would help to increase tourism numbers and revenues over the next 12 months.
“Many hotels reported high occupancy levels over December and January, and knock-on effects were felt by other establishments operating in the industry, such as retailers and restaurants.”
He added popular tourism attractions such as the cableway and the V&A Waterfront, had reported a record season, with Robben Island experiencing a 43 percent increase in visitors during December compared to the same period in 2014.
“The favourable exchange rate for many overseas travellers was definitely a pull factor and increased tourists’ spending power over the period.”
Deneys added that the Cape Town film industry had experienced buoyant growth last year, which had further aided the tourism industry throughout the year.
“We are seeing a definite increase in the number of production companies choosing Cape Town as a shooting location.
“Not only do they contribute to the tourism sector but also towards revenue for the city and job creation.”
Looking at the year ahead, Deneys said revised, less onerous visa regulations would encourage tourist operators who had previously been negatively affected by amended visa rules to reconsider South Africa.
David Green, the V&A Waterfront’s chief executive, said retail sales there would probably exceed R750 million for December, up almost 10 percent. He said more than three million people had visited, the highest number for the month on record.
“We attribute the increased number to a variety of factors, including the Cape Town Sevens (and) the cricket Test which saw a strong contingent of English supporters taking advantage of the strength of their currency.”
He said international visitors accounted for 23 percent of total visitors to the V&A Waterfront.
Cape Argus