CAPE TOWN – As news of the water crisis in Cape Town reaches across the world, prospecting tourists are increasingly cancelling visits to the city, putting the R38 billion tourism industry at risk.
“One of the key concerns noted by potential tourists who are considering Cape Town, is that they would make the water situation worse if they visited our region. We believe that this is incorrect. During peak season, international tourists only add 1% to the population,” said spokesperson of Wesgro Russel Brueton.
International coverage of Day Zero has certainly spooked tourists from planning trips to the Western Cape, but Wesgro insists that Cape Town keeps its doors open for tourists to ensure the industry is not crippled as a result of the drought.
Brueton said the situation was critical as international coverage of the drought has caused a lot of anxiety among travellers who added about R38 billion to the economy last year.
Tourism supports over 30000 jobs across the Western Cape. If one calculates foreign direct spent by visitors, visitors spent R9.9 billion in the Western Cape in the first half of 2017 alone. We have received concern from the tourism trade, as travellers question whether they should visit Cape Town now.
They have received feedback from members who dealt with accommodation, tour operators and attractions about requests being received from visitors wanting to know the extent of the drought and whether they needed to cancel or postpone their trips.
PHOTO CREDIT – NBC News
PHOTO CREDIT – BusinessLIVE
Leave a Reply