HOSPITALITY

BY TRACY BARTLETT

ver the past decade Cape Town has firmly established itself as a leading international destination , earning a plethora of prestigious awards and accolades and attracting keen local and foreign investor interest , with tourism now the city ’ s second largest industry supporting over 300 000 jobs in the Western Cape .

And , until a year ago , the Mother City ’ s stellar upward trajectory seemed unassailable , with tourist numbers increasing annually and extensive development continuing despite growing uncertainty around the stability of the national economy .

However , even Cape Town is no match for mother nature and , in its third year , the intensifying drought and increasingly severe water restrictions have finally begun to dent the city ’ s armour with visitors starting to cancel trips to South Africa ’ s tourism capital .

But Glyn Taylor , Joint CEO of the Century City Conference Centre & Hotel ( CCCC & H ) believes that there are many compelling reasons for remaining optimistic , with the main challenge being to communicate to the world at large that visitors do not aggravate the situation but that they are , in fact , a crucial part of the solution .

“ According to the latest Aviation Barometer published by Airports Company South Africa , tourism numbers were still strong in the fourth quarter of 2017 with international arrivals at Cape Town International arrivals increasing by 13.85 % and so it ' s critical that we adapt as quickly as we can to limit the damage going forward .”

Gary Koetser , Taylor ’ s counterpart , adds that another encouraging indication of the city ’ s resilience and its potential to weather the storm is the fact that development in the hospitality sector has barely paused for breath during the last three years with many ground-breaking projects already completed

42 APRIL / MAY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine