Got a yen to travel after being in lockdown for too long? You’re not alone. The phenomenon is a global one, which has seen people packing for Perth, Prague (or Plett for that matter) whether they can afford it or not.
Travel is back with a vengeance. In April Cape Town Tourism reported a recovery rate of 74 % for international arrivals and 76 % for domestic arrivals at Cape Town International Airport. As early as May this year, bookings for December 2022 were at 24 % occupancy.
There’s a reason for this new surge in tourism. With global lockdown and travel restrictions having eased significantly or been lifted entirely depending on the destination, anyone with a yen to travel or a smidge of wanderlust is packing their bags or planning a trip – whether they can afford to or not.
This phenomenon is being called “revenge travel” by trend analysts and predictably, the beautiful Mother City and its vibrant, culturally rich Central Business District (CBD) is sitting pretty and gearing up for a bumper summer season.
REVENGE WHAT?
Tasso Evangelinos, CEO of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), says it makes sense that Cape Town is a popular “revenge travel” destination, especially the CBD. “The Central City is unique in that its offering to visitors is diverse and exciting. From the wonderful venues and facilities such as museums and the Company’s Garden that give visitors an insight into our heritage and culture to our unique retail offering, the CBD is a great destination. We also have excellent hotels and other accommodation options to suit all budgets.”
Evangelinos says the CCID – which manages and promotes downtown Cape Town and offers top-up services to those provided by its partners, the City of Cape Town and SAPS – worked hard throughout the devastating Covid-19 years to ensure that the Central City remained safe, clean and a welcoming, risk-reduced environment. “We ensured that the CBD retained its reputation as a successful inner city that people want to visit, where they want to work and do business and have fun.”
Revenge travel is not unique to the Mother City, though. It is a global phenomenon, and one which came about following the hardship caused by Covid because, as, American Society of Travel Advisors vice president Erika Richter notes, people realised that “you only live once and therefore the best thing to spend your time and money on is enjoying new experiences".
SLOW & STEADY
South African consumer trends company Flux Trends reports that the pandemic created various challenges that will make travelling again daunting, but there are also opportunities for those who had to postpone trips due to Covid-19. This has also birthed several trends including Slow Travel.
“What initially started as a trend to help reduce the impact of fast travel on the environment has evolved into the ‘slow travel’ movement. By removing the element of squeezing a vacation into a short number of days, slow travel allows travellers to disconnect from the stresses associated with being constantly connected to or couped up in their homes or offices. Instead, those who can, stay longer and connect more with themselves and other cultures,” a Flux Trends spokesperson explains.
The Cape Town CBD’s mixture of urban comfort and cultural distinctiveness makes it a perfect candidate for slow travellers around the world.
A UNIQUE DESTINATION
What makes the CBD unique is its arresting confluence of places to eat, play and stay. Surging occupancy rates suggest that travellers are keen to experience the city’s beauty. According to a recent Cape Town Tourism accommodation report, occupancy rates in the Mother City hit 67 % in March 2022. This is a huge jump in comparison to the same time last year when occupancy rates were at 39.8 %. The average room rate for the month of March also rose from R991 in 2021 to R1972 in 2022. Last year, despite the ongoing pandemic and lockdowns, tourism drove R5.8 billion into the City’s economy which suggests that the current revenge travel surge will have a positive impact on Cape Town, and the CBD’s, economic prospects.
Comparing December 2020 and 2021, occupancy for greater Cape Town was reported at 32.2 % for the year ending December 2021, up from 28.3 % the year before. This is significant given the number of hotels that re-opened after 2020 and the many new properties that entered the market. This is according to the recently published State of Cape Town Central City Report 2021 – A Year in Review (SCCR), which also states that many hoteliers are expecting that the peak season for 2022/2023 will be strong, with full recovery to 2019 levels anticipated by the end of 2024.
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos says, “These positive figures are the result of targeted and effective campaigns and strategies implemented by the City of Cape Town and Cape Town Tourism that capture the variety of the destination.”
KEEP THEM COMING
To help lure more visitors, the CCID has invested heavily in efforts to make the CBD a welcoming destination, with various urban projects and a safety strategy. As a result of that work, and the efforts of Cape Town Tourism, the average length of stay in the Mother City has increased from 11.5 days at the beginning of last year to 20.5 days by the end of 2021.
Leigh Dawber, Chief Marketing Officer of Cape Town Tourism, says, “We are very optimistic that the CBD will maintain the current recovery trajectory and are looking forward to a bumper high season.”
Evangelinos concludes, “No matter what reason people visit for or how they do it, the beauty of Cape Town’s Central City is that it is blessed with everything an explorer needs. You can throw a stone in any direction in the CBD, and you will find beautiful food, stunning accommodation, and vibrant entertainment.”
Other stories you might like:
Choice Cape Town CBD staycations
Luxury Cape Town inner-city hotel stays
IMAGES: Pepperclub Hotel, 15 on Orange Hotel, Ed Suter, CCID