The recent Soccer World Cup should be the catalyst that will change Cape Town from a seasonal to an all-year-round destination because it created a whole new image of winter in the city.
 

This was the word from Cape Town Tourism chairman, Ian Bartes, when he addressed a Tourism Business Conference in the city last week. He expressed his frustration about the city's continued seasonality problem despite several attempts over the years to find a solution. "I've been talking about seasonality for the past decade and nothing has changed. There is no doubt in my mind that we can do something about it, but we just sit back and so it will stay the same with more businesses folding," he charged.
 
Seasonality, he said, meant 40 000 empty bed nights in winter; hotels closing down or toning down operations; and under-utilisation of facilities. It also meant peaking and over-use of facilities and resulting poor service levels in summer. Prices were hiked in summer because the local tourism industry effectively had six months to make money, but this could see the city running the risk of eventually out-pricing itself, he warned. Seasonality meant tourism wasn't a sustainable business in the Cape, resulting in businesses finding it difficult to access capital and investment and to obtain and retain quality full-time staff.
 
He pointed out the lunacy of having three major events - the Cape Argus Cycle race, the Two Oceans marathon and the Cape Town Jazz Festival - in one month. This led to hoteliers tearing their hair out because they couldn't find enough beds during peak time, while in other months their establishments stood empty, he said.
 
Bartes said while the World Cup didn't meet peak season expectations in the Cape, it did push international arrivals up by 18% compared to June 2009 and gave the city its highest ever number of June visitors. "The World Cup was critical in countering seasonality in the Cape in June," he said. "This vindicates the assertion that events have the biggest potential to bring people here, irrespective of the weather."
 
He suggested the city counter seasonality by:
- Filling the vacuum with other major events, providing new attractions and addressing new markets, such as South America.
- Using differential pricing to attract visitors.
- Reviving the "Cape 365" winter campaign of previous years which created a sub-brand for the city in winter, focusing on five themes such as wellness, entertainment, events, sport, food & wine.