Western Cape Business 2022

OVERVIEW
Tourism
Covid-19 waves are causing uncertainty.
With uncertainty about exactly who could travel to South
Africa, occupation rates for the 2021/22 season could
not be accurately predicted but everyone agreed that
having a good season would be vital for the health of
the sector. City Lodge Hotels reported 60% occupancy rates over
the Heritage Day long weekend, a signal that domestic tourism was
picking up. December bookings at many of South Africa’s resorts
were good but at the end of November, all signs were that a fourth
wave was descending.
Many tourism operators in the Western Cape were pinning their
hopes on the 2021 tour by the British and Irish Lions, but Covid-19
allowed for no spectators or followers. A hoped-for tax benefit to
South Africa of about R450-million did not materialise.
A landmark on the Sea Point boulevard, the Winchester Hotel
(pictured), reopened in 2021 after new owners Newmark spent
R90-million on a major revamp.
Having been built to house residential apartments, what
became Winchester Gardens was famous for its jazz and Sunday
teas. The 76-room hotel is now a luxury boutique hotel.
In 2019, Cape Town Tourism projected that the value to the
Western Cape of the cruise-ship industry between 2017 and 2027
would be about R220-billion. And then Covid-19 hit.
Major investments have been made in the Cruise Ship Terminal,
near the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and
the Cape Town Air Access programme. Air Access created more
than 750 000 new inbound seats between its inception in 2015 and
2020, adding something like R6-billion to the provincial economy. In
ONLINE RESOURCES
Cape Nature: www.capenature.co.za
Garden Route and Klein Karoo: www.visitgardenrouteandkleinkaroo.com
Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za
SECTOR INSIGHT
The Winchester Hotel
has reopened under new
management.
2019/20 the CTICC secured 52
conferences with an estimated
economic impact of R2.3-billion.
Unfortunately, the
conferences and events sector
is likely to be hit as badly as the
cruise-ship industry.
Following the major
drought experienced by the
Western Cape, the Westin
Cape Town has taken steps
to reduce its dependence on
the municipality for water. The
hotel’s position on reclaimed
land in the CTICC precinct of
the Foreshore means that about
1.2-million litres of seawater
have to be taken out of the
basement every day. This water
is converted into 441 000
litres of clean water by reverse
osmosis which saves more than
100-million litres of municipal
water annually. The Westin has
also created an organic roof
garden, from which it supplies
its restaurants with vegetables.
The Western Cape Provincial
Government wants to promote
education in the arts. Based
on research which found that
6% of employment in South
Africa is in the cultural sector,
the Western Cape will expand
the traditional STEM emphasis
to include two additional As:
Arts and Agriculture. There are
60 000 people employed in the
culture sector in the province. ■
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