{"id":7579,"date":"2010-04-03T11:08:09","date_gmt":"2010-04-03T09:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=7579"},"modified":"2010-04-03T11:08:09","modified_gmt":"2010-04-03T09:08:09","slug":"easter-bunny-brings-egg-cellent-weekend-to-the-cape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/easter-bunny-brings-egg-cellent-weekend-to-the-cape\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter Bunny brings egg-cellent weekend to the Cape!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Easter weekend looks to be a busy one\u00a0for the hospitality industry, a welcome last burst of business until the dreaded winter lull commences after the weekend.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Three major events take place this weekend: the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and\u00a0the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, and the KKNK in Oudtshoorn.\u00a0\u00a0 These events are estimated by Cape Town Routes Unlimited to generate R 780 million in income for the Western Cape, reports Southern African Tourism Update<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon<\/strong> will be run for the 40th time in Cape Town today, with a 56 km ultra marathon, a 21 km marathon, and 5 km and 2,5 km fun runs creating a choice for the 26 000 participants.<\/p>\n

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival<\/strong> is in its\u00a011th year, and its economic benefit is estimated at close to R 600 million.\u00a0\u00a0 The star of the Festival will be George Benson, who performs at the Kippies venue\u00a0at the Cape Town International Convention Centre tonight.\u00a0 His show will be a tribute to Nat King Cole.\u00a0 Judith Sephuma, Toots Thieleman, Jason Moran, La Melodia,\u00a0Jonathan Butler, TKZee, MiKaNiC, Regina Carter, Melanie Scholtz,\u00a0and Bilal are some of the 40 artists and bands performing today and tomorrow.\u00a0 Billed as “Africa’s Grandest Gathering” and rated as the fourth best jazz event in the world, the Jazz Festival is expected to draw 32 000 jazz fans over the two days.<\/p>\n

The KKNK<\/strong> (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) runs until 8 April, and is a feast of mainly Afrikaans music and theatre.\u00a0 Experimental plays usually\u00a0are first performed in Oudtshoorn.\u00a0 Award-winning ‘Die Naaimasjien’, with actress Sandra Prinsloo, will be the highlight.\u00a0\u00a0 Musically, David Kramer will\u00a0entertain with\u00a0‘David Kramer se Kaapse Breyani’.\u00a0 Other musical stars include Elsabe Zietsman, Amanda Strydom, Karen Zoid, Coenie de Villiers, Chris Chameleon, Koos Kombuis, classical guitarist James Grace, and the inimitable Nataniel.<\/p>\n

March was a bad month for business, severely down on previous years, and it is evident that hospitality businesses are concerned about the winter ahead, given the impact that punitive increases in petrol, electricity, municipal rates and other municipal charges will have on consumers.\u00a0 The only counter to these cost increases is the decrease in interest rates by 0,5 percentage points, reducing the costs of car and bond repayments.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A number of restaurants may not survive the quiet period ahead, and the reduced\u00a0bookings for\u00a0the World Cup may not bolster their earnings enough for them to survive the winter.<\/p>\n

Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, said as follows:”The industry went through a rough patch over the last 18 months because of the global economic recession.\u00a0\u00a0 It is therefore very reassuring to know that our destination plays host to events of this calibre.\u00a0 They certainly support the Western Cape Government’s objective of growth, job creation and poverty reduction and will help to build a long-term, sustainable tourism industry”.<\/p>\n

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

The Easter weekend looks to be a busy one\u00a0for the hospitality industry, a welcome last burst of business until the dreaded winter lull commences after the weekend.\u00a0\u00a0 Three major events take place this weekend: the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and\u00a0the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, and the KKNK in Oudtshoorn.\u00a0\u00a0 These […]<\/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":[3,124,22,21],"tags":[4087,3928,1317,4088,4086,2157,32366,1167,256,1101,108,4090,32378,1452,4072,1455,4075,32375,4092,4080,1112,4078,4089,4077,4074,4091,4081,4085,4084,4076,1456,4073,727,4083,3926,4082,4079,32387,3141,32373],"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