{"id":29441,"date":"2012-01-28T07:15:46","date_gmt":"2012-01-28T05:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=29441"},"modified":"2012-01-28T11:20:35","modified_gmt":"2012-01-28T09:20:35","slug":"jb-met-made-different-poor-tourism-impact-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/jb-met-made-different-poor-tourism-impact-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"J&B Met ‘Made Different’, poor tourism impact this year!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The J&B Met (with a prize money of R2,5 million) is one of the top events in Cape Town, and used to have a strong tourism impact, receiving sponsorship and marketing support from Cape Town Routes Unlimited, but the event at Kenilworth Racecourse today appears to have the poorest attendance by out-of-towners ever, if Camps Bay accommodation bookings (or lack of) is anything to go by.<\/p>\n

Traditionally stimulating the Cape Town fashion and hospitality industry, the J&B Met is a sought-after event on the Cape Town social calendar, and is estimated to attract 50000 punters today. \u00a0\u201cLast year the direct economic impact of people attending the J&B Met came close to R40 million. This was with only 41 200 attending. With more attendees this year, we expect the yield to be higher,\u201d<\/span><\/em> said Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, marketing Cape Town and the Western Cape. \u201cThe importance of events in promoting a destination cannot be underestimated as they are great catalysts for drawing visitors to the province year round. We hope that this event will introduce a slew of new visitors from Southern Africa to experience the charms of our wonderful destination,\u201d<\/em> he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

To demonstrate Responsible Tourism, the fashion theme for the J&B Met is ‘Made Different’<\/em>, encouraging fashionistas to have their outfits made from recycled and remodelled fashion, vying to win the ‘Most Elegant Couple’<\/em> competition. \u00a0A percentage of ticket sales will go to the conservation of the Kenilworth Conservation Area, home to a number of protected plant and wildlife species.<\/p>\n

Cape Town Tourism’s estimate that the J&B Met, the 35th, will contribute R65 million to the Western Cape today appears widely over-stated, given that for the first time in many years there are barely any accommodation bookings for J&B Met attendees at guest houses in Camps Bay, traditionally fully booked for this last weekend in January. \u00a0Instead of spreading the tourism benefit of the J&B Met amongst as many of its members as possible, Cape Town Tourism has partnered with one hotel only, Southern Sun Newlands, offering a two-day R2479 package, which includes a flight with Mango, in conjunction with UbuntuDeal.<\/p>\n

J&B Met<\/strong>, Kenilworth Racecourse. R175. www.jbmet.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a> Twitter:@WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The J&B Met (with a prize money of R2,5 million) is one of the top events in Cape Town, and used to have a strong tourism impact, receiving sponsorship and marketing support from Cape Town Routes Unlimited, but the event at Kenilworth Racecourse today appears to have the poorest attendance by out-of-towners ever, if Camps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,22,21],"tags":[14691,32367,602,32370,32366,108,85,32378,802,14692,3415,14694,9618,1055,14693,14695,32387,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t