Arrivals at Cape Town International Airport injected R24bn into Western Cape economy in 2022

The arrival of 605,000 foreign passengers injected a whopping R24.3bn into South Africa’s Western Cape economy in 2022, according to new figures from Cape Town Air Access, powered by Wesgro. The figures highlight the serious economic contribution of air travel to the local economy. For every 100 international passengers travelling to Cape Town and the Western Cape, R2.1m is generated in direct tourism spend. The new statistics show that 61% of the air arrivals in Cape Town are of foreign origin with the top five markets being the UK, Germany, the US, the Netherlands and Namibia. “These latest economic impact assessment results underscore the significance of the Cape Town Air Access project and its role in increasing direct air connectivity, creating a ripple effect on both tourism and the broader economy. With the upcoming peak summer season expected to surpass 2019 passenger levels, it is clear this number will continue to grow in 2023,” says Wrenelle Stander, Wesgro CEO and official spokesperson for Cape Town Air Access. Mayoral committee member for economic growth at the City of Cape Town, Alderman James Vos, said: “Aviation is a pillar of Cape Town’s destination value offering and fits in perfectly with my goal to help create a tourism-related job in every household in the metro, because when we land more flights, multiple industries benefit.”