It is astounding that Cape Town Tourism continues to misrepresent the tourism performance of Cape Town by using tourism information terminology that does not reflect that of the industry, demonstrating how out of touch it is with Cape Town’s tourism industry. The media release issued on Friday is a fine example of a pattern we have seen over the past two years of over self-congratulation and under-delivery.

In the past we have seen Cape Town Tourism being very flexible in its definition of the Cape’s ‘summer season‘, defining it by date to suit its purposes in showing the best tourism results.  In the past its CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold had defined the summer season as ending at the end of February.  The latest release refers to the ‘peak tourism season’,  which the industry would define as the period from about 26 December – 10 January, the two weeks in which the largest number of visitors descend upon Cape Town.  Not so Cape Town Tourism – the organisation defines it as December – March, without incorporating the summer months of October and November!  This could cynically be observed to be for obvious reasons, given the poor tourism performance in the first two months of the 2012/2013 summer season.

Not only do they get the definition of the summer period wrong, but they also jump off President Jacob Zuma’s recent visit to Cape Town, during which he presented the tourism statistics for the 2012 calendar year, blowing their vuvuzela as to the role the city played in achieving the spectacular national tourism growth rate of 10%.  They write: ‘Looking at the more recent summer  season in Cape Town, it would appear that the upward trend shows no sign abating (sic)’!  This is supported by a growth of 6 – 8 % ‘across most sectors of Cape Town’s tourism landscape’ between December 2012 and March 2013 – growth should be a specific percentage and not a range!   Should Cape Town Tourism be proud of recording such a low growth rate for its busiest period, one may ask, even if the Cape Town Tourism growth rate range can of course not be compared with that of the President’s 2012 annual rate!

In the media release, Cape Town Tourism supports its success by referring to Amadeus Air Traffic Travel Intelligence Solution’s statement that the Johannesburg – Cape Town route is one of the ten busiest in the world. We all know that SAA has made OR Thambo airport its hub for our country, and that most international flights fly into that airport, to fly onto Durban or Cape Town thereafter.  Using a confusing mix of room night sales and occupancy for December – February and March, respectively, they attempt to further prove their success, by comparing apples and pears!

They further quote visitor statistics for some of Cape Town’s most popular attractions, but only provide them for March this year, and not for their defined ‘peak tourism season’ of December 2012 to March 2013. The Table Mountain Cableway, Kirstenbosch, and Cape Point all recorded year-on-year increases, whilst Robben Island registered a decline. A creative interpretation is provided about the 3 – 6 % decline in Cape Town International airport arrivals (again odd to have a range provided) for the latest December – March period (contradicting the Johannesburg – Cape Town route brag), in that it is explained that ‘visitors are making use of alternative transport and hiring cars to get to Cape Town’!

To make sure that readers of the release understand that the tourism performance was due to Cape Town Tourism, with some help from the weather, they praise the marketing through ‘travel programmes‘ in international source markets, without elaborating on which these have been.

Whilst the word ‘Seasonality’ is not used, we are once again placated that all will be well for the Cape Town tourism industry this winter due to Cape Town Tourism running yet another Thompson’s Holiday promotion in the next five months, the programme last year not having made any significant impact, if any, on the tourism industry, which suffered greatly from a very wet winter and resultant disastrous winter performance! Mrs Helmbold urges the Cape Town tourism industry to use the quiet winter time to reflect on how to attract the ‘emerging markets’, without explaining what she and her team will be doing to create events and attract more local visitors to Cape Town in winter, in addition to a few Thompson’s ads in the Sunday Times! Mrs Helmbold is leaving Cape Town Tourism in three month’s time, so she will not be held accountable for yet another poor winter to come!

Odd is that Councillor Grant Pascoe, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee member for Tourism, Events, and Marketing, now has to be quoted in the (badly written) Cape Town Tourism media releases, no doubt written by Cape Town Tourism itself: ‘The improved tourism figures are encouraging and call for further focused action to maintain the trend of offering excellent value-for-money packages year round. We must continue to be competitive, whilst sharpening and adapting our service-orientated approach to attract new markets. We are looking for tourism opportunities that will grow the City’s natural fortes and are inclusive whilst sustaining the current core of the tourism economy. Our spotlight on winter as an events magnet is already translating into some excellent packages to drive conversion‘.  Whilst this quote from the Councillor is written in the style of Helmbold ‘psychobabble’, as described by a sharp journalist recently, the last sentence is not understandable in part, and downright misleading and untruthful!

The time has come for the City of Cape Town and Cape Town Tourism to focus its marketing action on winter, as Cape Town sells itself in the summer months!

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