Statement by the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos.
This weekend I had the opportunity to mark the official opening of Cape Town’s sailing season with the Cape Royal Yacht Club.
This wonderful event celebrates the Capetonians who contribute to the city’s ocean economy.
In Cape Town, the coastline around the metro contributes almost R40 billion, or 10%, to the city’s GDP per annum.
As such, it is important to note that Cape Town will next week officially open the 2022/ 2023 cruise season when we welcome the first cruise ship, the Hanseatic Spirit, to the world-class cruise terminal at the V&A Waterfront.
I’m excited to share that we are expecting a further five cruise ships in addition to the 104 already booked to dock in Cape Town. With almost R100 million in total estimated passenger spend per port visit, the cruise travel sector is a major boost to our economy and will help to generate more jobs across various related industries.
These fantastic figures are the result of hard work and partnerships under the banner of Cruise Cape Town, a project to promote the metro as a cruise destination which receives funding from the City and is administered by Wesgro.
Let’s get ready for a bumper season!
Caption 1: Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth with the crew participating in the Cape To Rio 2023. The sailors, hailing from Masiphumelele, Khayelitsha, Grassy Park and Athlone in Cape Town have been trained by the Royal Cape Yacht Club Sailing Academy which was formed to create opportunities for previously disadvantaged youth in the sailing sector.
Caption 2: Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth addressing the audience at the commencement of the sailing season about the importance of the ocean’s economy.
Caption3: Alan Haefele, Vice Commodore: Royal Cape Yacht Club; Councillor Anda Ntsodo; Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth and Neil Gregory, Commodore: Royal Cape Yacht Club.
Caption 4: Azile Arosi from Khayelitsha (a crew member participating in the Cape To Rio 2023) showing Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth how the yacht systems operate.
Source: City Of Cape Town