The Western Cape, particularly Cape Town, experienced a record-breaking December, with tourists flocking to the province.
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Over 400 000 people visited the province in December, according to Wesgro, the Western Cape Government’s trade, investment, and tourism promotion agency.
Notably, Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town increased by 21.9% in December compared to the previous year, while Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden increased by 5.5% and Robben Island increased by 2.8%.
Other Western Cape regional attractions, including the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden, Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, Arniston Hotel & Spa,!Khwa ttu, Shipwreck Museum, and Panthera Africa, received nearly 20 000 visitors.
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‘Our expectations of a record-breaking summer season have been realised. This is excellent news for our provincial economy and for the hundreds of thousands of jobs supported by tourism in the province,’ provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger said in a statement.
According to the report, Cape Town International Airport’s international terminal grew by 17% year on year in December and by 48% year on year in 2022, with 2.8 million two-way international passengers. It is another record-breaker, exceeding the previous record of 2.6 million passengers set in 2019.
‘Cape Town International Airport smashed all previous monthly records, processing an astounding 317,000 two-way international passengers. This is the highest monthly total of passengers in history, surpassing the previous high of 290,000 passengers processed in January 2020,’ Wenger said.
The most recent data also shows that George Airport’s passenger numbers increased by 31% year on year in December, with over 83 000 passengers passing through the airport, indicating a strong recovery in domestic travel to the Garden Route.
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Picture: Murray Swart/ Cape{town}Etc