The Mother City is planning to take its place as a top tier cruise ship destination in the world.
This was stated by the mayoral committee member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos at the Boating South Africa Awards this week.
Vos said they’ve partnered with several other bodies to form Cruise Cape Town. “This is a market with huge potential for economic benefits, in terms of passenger and crew spend, and for ship maintenance and supply of goods and services,” he said.
He added that they are already finding huge success in this market, with more than 100 ships already booked to dock in Cape Town between the October and May 2023 cruise season.
He said more than 90% of global trade takes place on sea routes and in Cape Town specifically, the coastline around the metro contributes almost R40 billion to the city’s GDP, or 10% to GDP per annum. This includes sectors ranging from real estate, agriculture and fishing, to retail and transport.
“When looking specifically at boat-building, including commercial and ocean sports, this market has secured investments worth over R25 billion and created over 11 500 jobs since 2014. Exports of Cape Town-made boats have risen by approximately 20,5% year-on-year since 2014,” he said.
He added that South Africa has gained a global reputation for catamaran-building and is ranked second after France in terms of units produced, thanks to the innovation and expert craftsmanship in the local industry.
He told the audience that Cape Town’s boat-building industry has a place for everyone with an interest in the boat-building industry.
“And this is one of the major reasons why the City of Cape Town has invested in the Blue Cape initiative. This specialised entity, a partnership with the V&A Waterfront, focuses on research and skills development in all areas of marine manufacturing, including boat-building, superyachts, and ocean sports, and how that links to related industries.”
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Picture: Cape Town ETC