Cape Town - A total of of 49 159 more domestic travellers passed through Cape Town International Airport in July than in June this year, according to the latest figures from tourism agency Wesgro.
This brought the total number of domestic two-way passengers through the airport since January to 3.4 million.
Wesgro’s tourism team said this was just 800 000 fewer two-way domestic passengers through the airport than for the whole of last year, which could only bode well for the Western Cape tourism for the rest of this year.
Numbers of international tourists to the region also continued to increase.
According to Wesgro’s July 2022 report: “The sustained tourism recovery in international arrivals seen over the last few months, when compared to pre-pandemic levels, has continued, with recovery rates at CTIA international terminal reaching the highest level over the last five months.”
The report said the UK ranked as the top source market to Cape Town, via air, followed by Germany, the US, Netherlands and France.
The report also showed that Europe had regained its position as the Western Cape's top source region for tourist arrivals, with six out of the top 10 source markets to Cape Town originating from that continent.
Meanwhile, Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC Mireille Wenger – speaking in George at an event marking the start of Tourism Month – said George Airport, widely regarded as a hub for Garden Route travellers, had recovered to 99% of pre-pandemic levels.
Wenger said a key focus of the province’s tourism strategy would be to match the increase in recovery rates for international visitors with an increase in domestic tourism recovery rates. She said this would be critical for the growth and the sustainability of the sector.
At the same time, regional carrier Airlink has launched the first-ever scheduled direct air service between Cape Town and Maputo.
This new route, which halves the Cape Town-Maputo flight time, is being seen as a boost for trade as well as tourism.
Airlink chief executive Rodger Foster said the airline already operated direct regional flights connecting Cape Town with Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Harare, Victoria Falls and Maun.
Wesgro chief executive Wrenelle Stander said Maputo is a major destination for Cape Town, with over 21 500 two-way international passengers recorded in 2019.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za