To increase the number of international arrivals in Cape Town from 1.56-million to 2.1-million a year over the next five years, which could potentially create 100 000 jobs in the Western Cape’s multibillion-rand tourism sector, the provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde has tabled the Project Khulisa action plan.
 
The project would also seek to increase foreign direct spend from R16.7-billion to R17.2-billion a year, grow the number of domestic trips by 600 000 to 2.9-million a year and increase the gross value added from the sector from R17-billion to R28-billion.

“To reach these objectives, we will collaborate with the private sector to pursue a range of initiatives, which we have workshopped with industry into a set of action plans.

“These plans are focused on boosting awareness of the Western Cape in key markets, improving accessibility to the destination and boosting the attractiveness of the region through additional competitive product offerings,” Winde said at the Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion at the V&A Waterfront on Tuesday.

To boost awareness of the province, a programme would be implemented to encourage international conference delegates to add a leisure component to their stay.

“We will also use the digital revolution to our advantage. One of our plans is to develop data and real-time business intelligence capacity so we are able to monitor trends as they occur and respond to them.”

Increasing air access would also be a key element in improving accessibility. “We will work to secure three new direct air routes to strategic markets. We are aiming to launch the first of these routes next year. In addition, we will create and drive an awareness campaign on local public transport options.
 
“In July, we achieved a 17% year-on-year increase in the number of international arrivals. Cape Town International [Airport] attributes this increase to the new direct flights from Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airlines,” Winde pointed out.

However, he noted that the current tourism laws were “one of the biggest threats to our vision for the tourism sector. To this end, we will lobby national government to amend the visa regulations so we can regain ground in these important new markets.”