{"id":6240,"date":"2010-01-12T12:30:07","date_gmt":"2010-01-12T10:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=6240"},"modified":"2010-01-12T12:32:07","modified_gmt":"2010-01-12T10:32:07","slug":"cape-festive-season-tourism-numbers-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/cape-festive-season-tourism-numbers-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape festive season tourism numbers down"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The festive season saw fewer holiday makers in the Cape, they stayed for a shorter period, and they spent less during their stay, say the tourism authorities, reports Fin24<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 According to the Cape Argus<\/strong>, international tourism numbers dropped by 6 %, compared to 2008, due to the recession and due to the stronger Rand, offering lesser value for money.<\/p>\n

According to Cape Town Routes Unlimited CEO Calvyn Gilfillan the Garden Route was quieter, speculating that this was due to the water shortage in the area.\u00a0\u00a0 The bookings however were slow compared to previous years, long before the water crisis became a reality.\u00a0\u00a0 The Overberg (especially Hermanus) and the Cape Town city centre were quieter, while the Boland reported similar tourism numbers as last year.\u00a0\u00a0 The West Coast had improved visitor\u00a0numbers, being a more affordable destination.<\/p>\n

Tourists were looking for affordability, says Cape Town Tourism, and that is why 5-star hotels struggled financially as guests traded down to lower star accommodation or even to self-catering accommodation.\u00a0\u00a0 Fedhasa Cape\u00a0reports that occupancy in 5 star hotels reduced by 10 – 20 % compared to last year, over the festive period, while 3 and 4 star hotels “did better”.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lower number of visitors from Johannesburg was evident\u00a0in Cape Town and especially Plettenberg Bay.\u00a0 It is\u00a0said that the Johannesburgers stayed home this festive season, to save money in order to renovate their homes, which they want to rent out for the FIFA World Cup, at which time they want to leave the country.\u00a0 Even the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company\u00a0had mainly Capetonians as visitors.<\/p>\n

At Whale Cottage Camps Bay bookings are starting to look good from 28 January onwards, the start of the weekend\u00a0on which the J & B Met takes place, and almost all of February is booked out already.\u00a0 The Argus Cycle Tour in March is also good for business.<\/p>\n

Upmarket restaurants have been reported to have also felt the pinch over the festive season, and many did not manage to fill their expensive tables for New Year’s eve, with prices as high as R 2 000 per person.<\/p>\n

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

The festive season saw fewer holiday makers in the Cape, they stayed for a shorter period, and they spent less during their stay, say the tourism authorities, reports Fin24.\u00a0\u00a0 According to the Cape Argus, international tourism numbers dropped by 6 %, compared to 2008, due to the recession and due to the stronger Rand, offering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,15,3,124,22,21],"tags":[264,467,822,602,32366,108,85,32378,24,3222,83,32377,27,3253,99,3250,32390,727,3252,107,3251,713,32373],"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