THE Western Cape and Cape Town need to increase their marketing in African and Middle-Eastern markets to counter a 7,89% year-on-year decline in visitor numbers from that region, says marketer, Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU). Commenting on statistics released by SA Tourism, CTRU ceo, Calvyn Gilfellan, said while international visitors numbers to the Cape grew by 1,48% last year to 1,7m, visitors spent 10,6% less than in 2006 (R17,7bn in 2007 compared to R19,8bn in 2006) because of the global economic crunch fuelled by high oil and food prices. He said the overall increase in international tourism was positive and demonstrated that “the fundamentals of our destination are in place and able to withstand global and regional pressures. This bodes well for the industry’s future, especially the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, which is 646 days away.” Gilfellan said plans for the World Cup were expected to positively influence 2008 figures with R30bn being invested in public transport and infrastructure in the province. Further good news was that the Cape’s low-season quarter (July-September) recorded the highest year-on-year increase in visitor numbers of 5,75% in 2007, up from 374 637 in 2006 to 396 194 in 2007. The Western Cape’s national share of international tourists was 29,5%, second to Gauteng’s 49,3%, but ahead of KZN’s 19,4% share.
  The number of bed-nights spent in the Cape increased by 1,34% from 19,7m to 20m. Cape Town and the Western Cape’s top source markets were: the UK (329 966), Germany (192 730), USA (151 209), Namibia (109 826), Lesotho (84 633), France (75 373) and the Netherlands (74 704). Most of its traditional source markets had recorded moderate growth, while UK visitor numbers reflected a 2% drop.