Cape Town Air Access, a multiagency initiative led by Western Cape provincial trade, investment and tourism promotion agency Wesgro, on Thursday released its latest figures on the economic benefits brought to Cape Town and the Western Cape by international air passengers arriving at Cape Town International Airport. Last year, 605 000 such passengers arrived at this airport, injecting R24.3-billion into the Western Cape economy and supporting 10 600 jobs.

“These latest economic impact assessment results underscore the significance of the Cape Town Air Access project and its role in increasing direct air connectivity, creating a ripple effect on both tourism and the broader economy,” affirmed Wesgro CEO and Cape Town Air Access official spokesperson Wrenelle Stander. “With the upcoming peak summer season expected to surpass 2019 [pre-Covid pandemic] passenger levels, it is clear this number will continue to grow in 2023.”

Every 100 international tourists arriving at Cape Town International Airport added R500 000 to the province’s economy through the direct and indirect aviation value chains, alone, supporting two local jobs. But these same 100 international visitors directly spent R2.1-million in the city and province. They also underpinned air cargo traffic worth R1.4-million for the province.

“These results reaffirm the aviation sector’s growing significance as a major engine of economic development, and its far-reaching contributions to other industries as a catalyst for a spectrum of economic activity,” highlighted Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister Mireille Wenger. “The incredible work that Cape Town Air Access has been doing since 2015 continues to pay dividends with the province currently capturing a large share of South Africa’s business and tourism traffic. It’s also worth noting that the passenger and cargo connectivity provided from Western Cape has positively impacted foreign direct investment and trade, providing an even greater access to foreign markets, encouraging exports, and increasing competition in the local economy.”

Of every 100 international air passengers that arrived in Cape Town, 39 were South Africans, and the other 61 were foreign citizens. On average, eight of the foreigners were British, six were German, five were American, three were Dutch, and three were Namibian. These were the top five international source markets for Cape Town and Western Cape tourism.

“Aviation is a pillar of Cape Town’s destination value offering and fits in perfectly with my goal to help create a tourism-related job in every household in the metro, because when we land more flights, multiple industries benefit,” stated Cape Town Economic Growth MMC Alderman James Vos. “As such, the city is proud to be a funding partner of the Air Access initiative which has boosted the local tourism sector and the wider economy. We look forward to seeing our aviation industry soar to even greater heights in the coming months.”