Stellenbosch is positioning itself as a serious player in South Africa's MICE (Meetings, conferences and exhibitions) tourism sector, with increased tourism numbers driven by demand for second-tier cities and improved air access into Cape Town.
Speaking during the Meet Stellenbosch conference held last week, Jeanneret Momberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch said there was a growing sentiment that “Stellenbosch is a serious force to be reckoned with in the meetings space”.
This is reflected in growth in the number of international meetings the town has hosted, reaching nine in 2023, up from five in 2022.
Momberg said there was also demand for second-tier cities in the MICE industry, and Stellenbosch, with its technology, “state-of-the-art” facilities at Stellenbosch University, as well as natural beauty and availability of a range of nearby activities was an appealing destination for both meetings and incentive planners.
“We have seen growth in Stellenbosch from pre-Covid. We have also made a very concerted effort to position Stellenbosch as a premier meetings destination. We are very privileged to have the university in our town and through that, we have state-of-the-art facilities not only for meetings but also for incentives.”
She said that Cape Town's improved international connectivity was also a major factor in the growth being experienced.
“For a destination like Stellenbosch to flourish, we cannot do that without airlift. That's how we can grow our tourism economy in Stellenbosch, and we have seen our tourism numbers grow over the past two years with easier access to Cape Town”.
David King, Project Manager for Air Access at Wesgro said that the programme had nearly doubled arrivals to Cape Town from one million seats in 2015 to 1.9m. The past peak season had seen 200 000 more arrivals at Cape Town International Airport than in the 2018/2019 peak season, the equivalent of “700 more wide-body aircraft”.
The planned Cape Winelands Airport, set to open in 2027, will further drive tourism and economic growth. Momberg said adding the words “Cape Winelands” into the airport name would be particularly important from a positioning and awareness point of view.
“The name is super-exciting because it speaks to who we are, where we are. Whether it's Stellenbosch, Paarl or Durbanville, tourists see ‘Cape Winelands’ and that's what we want them to see and experience,” she said.
Deon Cloete, Managing Director of the Cape Winelands Airport said it would be an important economic contributor to the region.
“The reality is, in a city such as ours, to remain competitive, you do need a second airport”. He said that currently, flights into Cape Town International have to take on an additional 10 tonnes of fuel in the event that they are not able to land at the airport and must divert to Johannesburg. Having a second airport closer would immediately cut airline operating costs by 5%.
The demand for winelands meetings and incentives options outside of Stellenbosch is also growing. Speaking to Tourism Update, Debbie-Lee Cockrell, General Manager of the Erinvale Hotel & Spa in Somerset West said demand for meetings facilities post-Covid had grown significantly with demand for smaller, hybrid meetings increasing as soon as people were allowed to meet in person again.
Initially, Erinvale refurbished two small meeting rooms, kitting them out with remote meeting and back-up power solutions.
The hotel has since also refurbished a bigger space to accommodate 120 people, and Cockrell says the area, with nearby wine farms and the Erinvale Golf Club, was also a popular choice for incentives.
