It was less an Easter weekend breakaway, and more the Two Oceans Marathon, that filled up Cape Town in particular this weekend, an astounding 28000 runners from Cape Town, other parts of the country, and other countries participating in the Half and Full Marathon yesterday. It is probably one of the last busy tourism weekends for a few months, as the end of the Easter weekend signals the end of the tourist summer season.
A media statement received from Western Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde estimates the contribution of The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon at R80 million. It is a shame that the Easter weekend appears to co-incide with extreme weather conditions, the gale force South Easter blowing in excess of 100 km/hour yesterday, being a challenge for many runners, as was the torrential rain a year ago.
This weekend saw the start of another large event, taking place in Oudtshoorn, being the ABSA Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK), running for a week. The Minister’s estimate of the economic contribution of the KKNK is R95 million.
Other events this weekend were a soccer match between Ajax Cape Town and AmaZulu at the Cape Town Stadium (but poorly advertised), and the Raka unplugged music festival in Swellendam from tomorrow until 3 April. World-renowned Shanghai-born and New York-based Tian Jiang pianist performed at a well-attended charity performance in Franschhoek, organised by La Residence for the Lelieblom House for Children and the Stuart Andrew McFarlane Foundation for Motor Neuron Disease, and attracting visitors from Johannesburg and London.
Events certainly attract tourists to Cape Town. It is a shame when they co-incide, and one hopes that the province and Wesgro, with the City of Cape Town, have many plans for events during the Seasonality problem-child period of May until September!
We wish all our guests, staff, suppliers and blog readers a Happy Easter.
Photograph: Orphanage Cocktail Emporium’s Hot Cross Bunny Cocktail, created in celebration of its first anniversary yesterday!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @Whale Cottage
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