The Western Cape, especially Cape Town, has seen an increase in tourists during the winter months, resulting in more consistent high occupancies for the tourism industry.  

South Africa’s tourism remains resilient, with an overall revenue of R15.8bn (€1.1bn) and a 12.2% increase in room occupancy, according the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) annual hotels outlook, which covered South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Nigeria.

The Western Cape has always suffered during the winter months, as summer is the most favourable season for tourists. The decrease in tourism during these months naturally impacts the region’s revenue, creating a sustainability risk for many service providers, with a high turnover of staff.

Cape Town’s Mayor, Patricia De Lille said: “There’s no question that we have to continue to address the negative impact of seasonality…This is why the City has established a partnership that brings together a number of organisations with a focus on promoting tourism in the city.  Fedhasa, Wesgro, Cape Town Tourism and Accelerate Cape Town are working together to find ways to combat the impact of seasonality on the local tourist industry.”

Wesgro’s Chief Marketing Officer, Judy Lain said: “The high season now extends over a longer period than previously.”

Traditionally December and January were the peak months, however the region is now experiencing a significant increase in visitors from about October all the way to April. Another factor is the improvement in air access to the city, with additional direct flights, and successful marketing initiatives.

Various organisations have partnered to combat seasonality issues resulting in a new golf festival that focuses on promoting winter events; attracting business tourism by hosting conferences during the winter; as well as encouraging domestic travel during June and August. According to PwC, domestic travel is growing, with an anticipated increase of 2.2% for 2017.  Another factor has been positioning Cape Town as a Halal-friendly destination to draw a greater number of Muslim tourists.

CEO and Founder of Rhino Africa, David Ryan, said a major contributing factor to the increase in tourism during the traditional winter months had been attributed to the increase in demand of safari beds, especially the Kruger National Park and Botswana, as these two destinations had seen an increase in popularity during previously quieter months, pushing visitors into June. This has a knock-on effect for Cape Town as it is a destination people want to visit while travelling in Southern Africa.

Another contributing factor, said Ryan, was that the traditional winter duration has shortened. Traditionally, winter commenced right after Easter in April until late August, however Cape Town has had a higher occupancy rate than in previous years from April until June. He said July still experienced the usual winter dip.

He said the past two years had been positive, as the impacts of traditional winter had subsided.

Leader of Hospitality and Gambling for PwC, Pietro Calicchio, said according to feedback from hoteliers in the region, occupancies were up.