Tag Archives: Cape

“Tourist torrent” expected for the festive season? Not in the Cape!

One wonders where the tourism authorities get some of their information from!  While a The Times journalist may have enjoyed the alliteration in his headline on 7 December (“All set for a tourist torrent”), he may in fact have vastly exaggerated the implications of the results from a World Cup survey as to tourism to South Africa over the “season”/”festive season”.  This contradicts what most tourism players are experiencing, in what is set to possibly become one of the worst summer seasons ever, with poorer accommodation bookings than in previous years for coastal suburbs/towns such as Camps Bay, Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay, and even worse in inland towns.

The journalist was reporting on the presentation of the SA Tourism and Department of Tourism study on the effect of the World Cup, a survey which had been conducted in June and July amongst World Cup visitors, as well as guests flying out of Cape Town International, OR Thambo, and ten other airports in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.  As a market researcher in a previous career, I shudder at the thought of the research methodology (unspecified in the S A Tourism release) which may have been used – in Cape Town eight departing guests were interviewed at the close of the Cape Town semi-final at the airport, on which basis a local daily proclaimed the Cape’s success in hosting the tournament in our city!   Both Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited used dubious questionnaire formulation in surveys conducted amongst local tourism players during the World Cup.

SA Tourism’s Chief Marketing Officer Roshene Singh is a respected marketer, and I had the pleasure of meeting her a few months ago.   But the quote attributed to her in the article seems unbelievable: “We believe we’re going to have a bumper season (note her word, which the sub-headline in the article changed to ‘festive season’!) because people who are regular visitors in June and July deferred their holidays because of the influx of soccer fans then, so we expect them to now visit.”   Given the seasonal nature of tourism in the Western Cape, with May, June and July being the worst three months for the tourism industry in the Western Cape, our region will definitely not be expecting a “tourist torrent” in the next three weeks/three months, if we are to rely on these ‘displaced’ holidaymakers!

The rest of  The Times report  reflects the findings of the World Cup survey, which showed that 310000 foreign soccer fans had visited South Africa for the World Cup, said Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, and that 90% would consider visiting again.  Key findings are as follows:

*   The economy benefited by R3,6 billion (the cost of generating this income was not mentioned!)

*   59 % of visitors travelled to South Africa for the first time due to the soccer event

*   220000 soccer visitors visited Gauteng, 108384 the Western Cape, and 83819 KwaZulu-Natal

*   the largest number of World Cup visitors came from the USA (30175), followed by Mocambique (a surprise second place at 24483), Britain (22802), Swaziland (19593), Brazil (14815) and Australia (12210).

*   68%  rated South Africa as an “extremely good” host, and 29 % rated it as a “good host”, an excellent scorecard.

*  Just over half of the soccer fans who had been to other World Cup events, said South Africa was a better host country – a surprisingly low figure, given all the publicity one saw and the highest ever FIFA rating – 33% rated it on a par with previous host countries, and 16 % rated it worse.

The bizarre (and dangerous) projection by our tourism marketing authority, based on very indirect information obtained from a survey conducted six months ago, in a period since which South Africa’s post-World Cup image has taken some serious knocks, and in which period the Rand has remained too strong to make South Africa an affordable tourist destination from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA, is irresponsible, in our opinion, and does not reflect the reality of bookings by the accommodation industry.  The reference to the bumper season must have been made during the presentation of the survey results to journalists by Singh, as the official media release of SA Tourism does not refer to this projection at all!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Restaurant Review: Cafe Mozart is Cape cool!

I have the highest admiration for Richard Griffin, who must be one of the most creative restaurateurs in Cape Town as far as restaurant ‘theatre’ goes.  Café Mozart has been a Cape Town institution on Church Street, in the section that is a pedestrian mall between Long and Burg Streets, in the antique center of the city, and is one of the latest additions to the Griffin restaurant collection.   It is a friendly inexpensive pitstop for locals working close by and for shoppers, given the shortage of parking in the area.  Unfortunately, there is no Mozart at Café Mozart!

You cannot miss Griffin’s new improved Café Mozart when walking down the lane – it has a little wooden fence around the outside seating area, decorated with lots of plastic flowers, attracting one to the restaurant.   In a corner there are a number of wacky ‘cakes’ decorated in a floral hat theme.  Looking lost is a wire and beaded goat (I saw a similar one at The Sidewalk Café), which is the inspiration for a Facebook competition which Griffin is running across all his restaurants.  Black table cloths are covered with thick red velvet cloths and lace overlays.   Centre point is a wonderful tree giving shade to the restaurant area, making it perfectly cool for  a hot Cape summer’s day.  The restaurant interior is tiny, although there is an upstairs seating section.  The open-plan kitchen is visible as one enters the restaurant, the new counter having changed position since Griffin took over the restaurant in September.  In the window is a lovely display of cupcakes and other treats.  Plates decorate the walls of the interior.  Cutlery and paper serviettes are brought to the table in a mini-champagne bucket.  Beggars coming to the table is off-putting, and spoil the magic.

I drink a lot of water, and loved the water which was poured from a jug with lemon slices, mint and nectarines, a refreshing summer drink.  The wine list is short and sweet, with only 13 wines.  A Mozart House wine is inexpensive at R22/R90 for the white and red wines, vintage, variety and origin unspecified.  Jordan Chardonnay costs R165, De Grendel Rosé R22/R90, Simonsig Shiraz R105, and Warwick’s First Lady R135. 

The menu is dedicated to Griffin’s parents Jean and Malcolm Griffin.  It is an unassuming photocopied A4 page, cleverly folded to separate the food items from the beverages.  The menu introduces the restaurant as follows: “Nestled in the heart of the Cape Town CBD, Café Mozart is a renowned landmark which has been charming both locals and visitors alike for just under 30 years.  This beautiful historical building has been witness to the growth and evolution of the Mother City and has been home to many a business, including a locksmith in 1939, one of the first recorded enterprises on this site”.  

Breakfast is served until a generous midday, and eleven options are offered, from the predictable muesli, fruit and yoghurt (R30); French Toast (R32); and omelette (R35); to such unusual items as “Cumberland bangers, eggs, baked beans and toast (R35);  Eggs Royale with smoked salmon (R48); and The Full Mozart (R48).   Gourmet sandwiches are served on a choice of ciabatta, wholeseed molasses, and German rye, with a side salad.  They range from R35 for brie, to R45 for an interesting sounding Bobotie sandwich!  Plain “Toasted Governments” are available in nine variations, reasonably priced from R26 – R31, which includes a salad.  Salads can also be ordered from a “chef’s salad table” on weekdays, costing R40 per plateful.   Fifteen lunch dishes are offered, quite a mixed bunch including further salads (R35 – R45), mussels (45), Bobotie (R65), a Mozart Royale burger (R45), sirloin (R85), and a delicious Chicken Schnitzel, three pieces served with linguine are excellent value at R65.  

Peta Synn is the Manager, and has come a long way with Griffin, since 2006.  She is very friendly, and eager to help.   Griffin first attracted attention when he opened Madame Zingara in 2001, the first time a Cape Town restaurant had seen “foodtainment”, with belly dancers and jugglers wandering through the Loop Street restaurant.  An overnight fire in 2006 closed down the restaurant, but became the inspiration for the new Madame Zingara Theatre of Dreams, which Griffin set up underneath the highway outside the harbour, and put on the most amazing circus-type entertainment whilst serving hundreds of patrons in the middle of nowhere.  It became the talk of the town, and of the country, to such an extent that a backer attracted him to open in London, unfortunately just as the recession started biting, and the backer withdrew, leaving Griffin and his team high and dry, forcing him to close both the London and the local operation two years ago.   A Cape Town backer couple supported him to get him back onto his feet, to help him reappear on the restaurant scene with the opening of the Bombay Bicycle Club, at the top of Kloof Street.  Then came The Sidewalk Café in Vredehoek, Café Mozart, and his most recent conquest is Café Paradiso on Kloof Street, which has just re-opened under his direction.   Alongside this, he resurrected Madame Zingara earlier this year, this time located at Century City, and now touring the country.

Café Mozart is hard to get to if one is reliant on parking close by, but if one is in town, it is well worth making a stop, sitting under the Café Mozart tree to catch some Cape cool, whilst watching the hustle and bustle of the city pass by. 

Café Mozart,  37 Church Street, Cape Town.  Tel (021) 424-3774. www.themozart.co.za.  Monday – Friday 7h00 – 17h00, Saturday 8h00 – 15h00. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Tourism growth good from Germany

After a long period of reduced travel by Germans, due to the recession in the past few years, they are ready to travel again, and it would appear that the much improved German economic performance, coupled with the excellent coverage of South Africa’s tourist gems during the World Cup, appears to have led to a marked increase in enquires and bookings from Germany.

Southern African Tourism Update  reports that the ADAC Reisemonitor survey, conducted in July amongst a sample of 4 000 ADAC members (similar to the Automobile Association), shows that 71 % of Germans interviewed plan to make a long-haul holiday next year, up by 6 % compared in last year’s survey.  The article quotes a tourism player Dr Martin Buck as saying that “…the tourism industry is picking up speed once again.  The worst of the recession is now over and German citizens are again living up to their reputation as the world’s most travelled nation”.   Almost 60 % of Germans surveyed said they would go on holiday before the end of the year, irrespective of their financial situation, and that they expect the prices of tourism products and services to increase.   The most popular holiday destinations for Germans are Germany, Italy and then Spain. 

It was good to see an advertisement for South Africa in the leading lifestyle magazine Bunte at the end of September, with the headline “Südafrika Hautnah” (South Africa – up close), followed by a sub-headline relating to the Cape: “Zum verlieben schön – das Land am Kap strahlt eine Faszination aus, die seine Gäste nie wieder loslässt” (To fall in love with – Cape Town radiates a fascination, that never leaves its guests).  The ad focuses on German TV presenter Ruth Moschner, sharing her favourite things to do and places to visit when in South Africa.  She mentions Cape Town, with Johannesburg and Durban, but of the six photographs in the ad, two are of Cape Town (Boulder’s Beach and V&A Waterfront), as well as a Cape Dutch house in the Winelands.  Moschner raves about the country as a tourist destination, yet praises its people even more, saying that she has seldom experienced  being welcomed with such heartiness.  The ad is part-sponsored by SAA, and advertises a special package of € 599 from 8 November – 16 December (www.askSAA.com).   A tiny “schoolboard”-style ‘South Africa: Alles ist möglich’ (South Africa: everything is possible) concludes the ad.

A follow-up SA Tourism ad in Bunte last month featured Michael Mittermeier, a German comedian who performed at the Cape Town Comedy Festival last year.  He has been to South Africa three times, and raves about the generous ‘host country’, as he describes it (“Besucher werden in Sued-afrika in den einmaligen Rythmus des Landes integriert” (Visitors are drawn into the unique rhythm of the country).  He expresses the regret that Bafana Bafana dropped out of the World Cup so early.   He highlights the 10 hour travel time between Germany and South Africa, without time difference, as positives, and recommends a safari to see the Big Five, and the beautiful coastal beaches.  Three photographs of the rocks at Camps Bay beach, Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain, and of a Cape Dutch homestead make up half the photographs featured, a weighting towards the region that most tourists describe as the most beautiful of all in South Africa.

During the World Cup the leading German TV station ZDF broadcast an hour-long tourism documentary about South Africa, presented by the charming ex-Miss South Africa Jo-ann Strauss, prior to each match in which the German team played.  Accommodation bookings from Germany flowed in from July onwards as a result, more than we have seen in many years.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

So what impact did the World Cup really make on Cape Town and the Cape?

Cape Town Routes Unlimited has released statistics, comparing the tourism performance between June 2009 and 2010.  In general it would appear that tourism facilities fared better in June this year compared to last June, due to the World Cup, which kicked off on 11 June.

 The following statistics were provided in the Cape Town Routes Unlimited “World Cup Impact” report:

1.  The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway received 63861 visitors in June, an increase of 69 %

2.   Boulders Beach in Simonstown had just less than 20 000 visitors from 1-20 June this year, compared to 21 314 for the whole of June 2009

3.   Kirstenbosch received 7 % more visitors in June, at 25 469, compared to last year

4.   The V&A Waterfront received 1,6 million visitors in June, up 7 % compared to last year.

5.   Robben Island doubled its visitor numbers between June this year and last year.

6.   International arrivals at Cape Town International airport increased by 18 % in June relative to a year ago, (and by 24 % for the period 11 June – 16 July, according to Cape Town Tourism’s World Cup Impact report, released yesterday).

7.   Domestic arrivals at Cape Town International airport increased by 10 %, at 261260 in June 

8.   The Cape Town “Lodging Statistics Summary” (where did they get that name from?) seems very wrong, from own experience and discussions with other industry colleagues, given the exceptionally poor May 2010 accommodation bookings.  We publish the information with a warning (the Cape Town Routes Unlimited report does not identify the source of its statistics):

             Occupancy:                 2010                                              2009

             April                             59%                                                 62%

             May                              55%                                                 46%

             June                              68%                                                 41%

9.  The FIFA Fan Fest at the Grand Parade had its best day on 11 June, the Opening Match between Bafana Bafana and Mexico, with 41000 visitors, and had to be closed at that number due to overcrowding. The second busiest day was the Bafana Bafana match against France on 16 June, with 39000 visitors.  The quietest day was 21 June, with just less than 8000 soccer fans.

10.   In June the busiest Fan Walk day was when Holland played Cameroon, with an estimated 72000 walkers between the City centre and the Cape Town Stadium.  The Portugal/Korea DPR match attracted only 25 000 – 30 000 walkers, a day with heavy rain.

11.   Public Viewing set up in provincial towns was highest on 11 June in all such towns, and highest overall in Worcester (8000), followed by George (more than 7000).  Attendance dropped strongly on other days, and night matches were not well supported where public transport had not been organised.

12.   The V&A Waterfront Gateway (one assumes the one at the Clocktower) attracted 23911 visitors in June, up by 8 %, but the value of bookings increased by 55%.   Only 94 bookings were made last month, a disappointing number, given the traffic in the V&A Waterfront in this period.

13.   The Cape Town Tourism International airport office served 6841 visitors, the City branch 1206, the Table Mountain Cableway branch 849, and Kirstenbosch 803 visitors.  No comparable 2009 figures are provided, which is a surprise and disappointment.  (Cape Town Tourism’s World Cup Impact report states that 71 % more international visitors and 15 % more domestic tourists visited a Cape Town Tourism branch during the World Cup period – even though I have never seen information about the origin of the tourist asked) 

14.   Franschhoek claims to have received more than 4000 visitors (no 2009 comparative figures) in its Information office in June, which did not translate into much business as far as accommodation and restaurant bookings are concerned.  Paarl claims to have served 1 961 visitors (no 2009 comparative figures), and Knysna Tourism received 1433 visitors, double the number of last June.   Ceres received 1173 visitors, treble the 2009 figure, but this may have been due to the heavy snowfalls last month.

It is a pity that 2009 figures are not available across the board for the statistics provided, and that the 11 days of the World Cup are not reflected either, as Cape Town and the towns close to it were fuller in July, given the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final matches played in Cape Town in this period.  Yet it is commendable that statistics were made available at all, no matter how questionable some of them appear to be!

Cape Town Tourism’s World Cup Impact report, presented to the media yesterday, claims that 200000 of the 350000 international visitors that came to South Africa for the World Cup came to Cape Town (even though its earlier pre-World Cup surveys showed that the majority of such soccer fans planned to visit Cape Town!).   One wonders how this estimate was made.  Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold said that the World Cup was never about the short term, but about long-term benefits for Cape Town, turning soccer fans into fans of Cape Town.  City of Cape Town Mayco Member of Economic Development and Tourism Felicity Purchase noted that events hosted in winter months are needed to counter the seasonality of Cape Town’s tourism industry.   The 750 journalists that were shown around Cape Town loved the city, describing it as “photogenic”, and falling in love with it.   The Report also addresses accommodation occupancy during the World Cup, but its “research” was so poorly conducted that their misleading results will not be reported here (read our criticism of their intital results, mid-way through the World Cup).

What all the reports lose sight off is the extremely poor May that the tourism and hospitality industry experienced, a vacuum having been created due to the World Cup, which wiped out any gains made between 11 June – 11 July!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com