Tourism recovery rate at CTIA’s international terminal reaches five month high; George Airport fully recovered

31 August 2022 

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 Cape Town International Airport’s (CTIA) international terminal reaching the highest level over the last five months.

Domestic two-way passengers at CTIA increased from 407 626 in June 2022, to 456 785 in July. Total two-way domestic passengers in 2021 reached 4.2 million. It is encouraging to see that total two-way domestic passengers between January and July of this year already stands at 3.4 million, and bodes well for the rest of the year.

The findings are included in Wesgro’s July 2022 report, which is a monthly publication providing valuable insights into tourist arrivals and trends in the Western Cape.

Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger said: “I am very pleased with the continued recovery we are seeing in the tourism and hospitality sector, across many indicators such as air travel, key source markets, hotel occupancy as well as visitors to our many and diverse attractions.”

Minister Wenger continued: “I am also thrilled that passengers through George Airport have essentially fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching a recovery rate of 99%. I met with the management of the George Airport this week and heard that between January and March of this year, an impressive 190 000 passengers passed through the airport and that they have exceeded their capacity and hope to implement expansion plans over the next few years.”

Minister Wenger kicked-off her Tourism Month Tour in George on Monday, visiting local tourism attractions and meeting with George Airport management.

Key findings included in the Wesgro report for July 2022 are:

July 2022 performance indicated that passengers through CTIA’s international terminal reached a recovery rate of 87% when compared to the same month in 2019. This is the highest recovery rate over the last five months.

Domestic recovery in July, however, was 68% after remaining on 70-80% recovery since the start of the year

Passengers through George Airport recovered to 99% when compared to the same month in 2019.

Year to date (as at May 2022), UK ranked as the top source market to Cape Town (via Air), followed by Germany, USA, Netherlands and France.

Europe has regained its position as the Western Cape's top region for tourist arrivals, with 6 out of the top 10 source markets to Cape Town originating from the region.

Eight out of the top 10 source markets to Cape Town (via Air) already recovered to more than half of the number of tourist arrivals recorded over the same period in 2019.

Hotel occupancy for the Western Cape stood at 44,3% in July 2022, representing a recovery rate of 84% when compared to 2019.

The Average Daily Rate (ADR) for the Western Cape grew to R1, 432.76 and RevPAR (Revenue Per Average Room) reached R634.13.

ADR exceeded June 2019 levels, recovering to 111% and RevPAR reached 93% recovery.

Footfall at 25 participating attractions recorded a total of 338,695 visitors in July 2022, a 124% year-on-year growth in the number of visitors and a recovery rate of 83% when compared to July 2019.

The top 5 highest year-on-year growth rates in July 2022 were recorded for Robben Island (4914%), Cango Caves (3866%), Table Mountain National Park: Boulders (285%), Viljoensdrift River Cruise (259%) and Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (227%).

14 out of the 25 attractions exceeded their July 2019 visitor numbers. Remarkable recovery rates of over 200% was achieved at the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (259%), Kogelberg Nature Reserve (238%) and Knysna National Park (200%).

Minister Wenger added: “A key focus of our tourism strategy will be for the Western Cape to match the increase in recovery rates for international visitors, with an increase in domestic tourism recovery rates, which is critical for the growth and the sustainability of the sector. That is why this tourism month, our message to South Africans is to explore the remarkable beauty our province has on offer.”

Minister Wenger concluded: “The tourism and hospitality sector contributes significantly to our economy. In fact, in 2019, the gross value added by this sector was R15.5 billion and supported 174 982 direct jobs, which does not even consider indirect jobs created across the entire tourism value chain. We have everything we need to not only recover to pre-pandemic levels but to far exceed them, boosting our economy and creating many more jobs for residents in the Western Cape”

Issued by Georgina Maree, Spokesperson for the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities (Responsible for the Provincial Treasury and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism), 31 August 2022