THE Western Cape is anticipating a bumper summer season with more than 3m international and domestic visitors expected to visit the province compared to 2,84m during the same period (October to the end of March) last year.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) acting ceo, Calvyn Gilfellan, says 1.09m international arrivals were expected from the main source markets: the UK, Germany, USA, The Netherlands, France, Namibia and Lesotho. International visitors were expected to stay between 14 and 19 nights – well ahead of the average length of stay nationally of international tourists - and spend R8 500 per person per trip (excluding airfare). Domestic visitors were expected to make 1,9m trips to the Western Cape this summer, with the strongest source markets being Gauteng, KZN, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape itself. Domestic visitors typically stayed for seven nights and spent between R1 400 and R1 700 per person per trip. Due to seasonality problems, the summer months are a crucial period for the local tourism industry. It was therefore heartening, Gilfellan said, that by September Cape Town's hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and self-catering units had already been 53,8% booked for December. To kick off the festive season, the province is launching an extensive Welcome Campaign on December 3 when Western Cape minister for finance and tourism, Lynne Brown, formally opens a new Eastern Gateway information centre at Storms River Bridge near the Western Cape/Eastern Cape border. Some 22 000 “goodie bags” with promotional items, small gifts, homegrown produce and information on the six Western Cape regions will be distributed during the campaign. A new network of Gateway information centres is also being set up at the main entry points to the province.  All this will be supported by a countrywide advertising campaign on TV and radio, as well as on large plasma screens at airports and on outdoor billboards at Cape Town International Airport. In January, CTRU and Cape Town International Convention Centre will co-host a 'back 2 Business' event, starting off the new conferencing year with the theme 'It's time to meet again'.