The City of Cape Town (CoCT) will work with Cape Town Air Access – which falls under travel and trade promotion agency, Wesgro – to ensure the Mother City has more direct air access from key African tourism source markets.

So said CoCT Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, who told Tourism Update that he had used the opportunity provided on the sidelines of Africa Travel Week and World Travel Market Africa 2022 – held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from April 11 to 13 last week – to meet with tourism services bodies from across the continent to discuss opportunities that would enable greater travel and trade opportunities for Cape Town.

“One of my biggest priorities at this year’s event was to go out on to the floor and take the next step in helping the City of Cape Town create stronger connections with cities and countries around Africa for the mutual benefit of growing economies,” Vos said.

He pointed out that tourists from African countries comprised 74.3% of the total number of visitors to South Africa in 2019. “There are currently 13 routes out of Cape Town to 10 destinations in Africa. We are focused on growing that number by building on relationships and showing Cape Town as a proudly African city,” said Vos.

One of the ways to build those relationships is to sign more African sister city agreements like the ones Cape Town has with Accra, Ghana, and Bujumbura in Burundi.

A sister city relationship takes the form of a legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties, including tourism and trade.

‘Many untapped opportunities’

“Many untapped opportunities are waiting to be explored,” said Vos, pointing out that Africa was undergoing steady economic growth development and transformation, with tourism playing a leading role in terms of job creation and acting as the catalyst of opportunities for other industries.

“When people travel, they see countless opportunities,” Vos noted.

He said the City of Cape Town’s International Relations Department had highlighted a need to further a partnership with, amongst others, Nairobi, Kenya.

“The Kenyan capital is the economic and tech powerhouse of East Africa and the national carrier, Kenya Airways, currently offers five flights a week between Nairobi and Cape Town, precisely because of the demand for travel between the two cities.”