South Africa is missing out on substantial revenue by not exploiting the lucrative and fast-growing sea cruise market.
A 2010 report by the City of Cape Town has highlighted the fact that the lack of adequate terminal facilities is restricting industry growth in the region.
It said South Africa captures only 0.5 percent of the world’s cruising business.
Figures quoted in an earlier city report from 2008 estimated that one cruise liner carrying 2 000 passengers, with a crew of 600, would result in expenditure of R2 286 400 a day.
Based on these figures a seven-day cruise from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, Durban, Richards Bay and returning to Cape Town would result in expenditure of R9.14 million. “Just 25 of such cruises would result in revenue of R228.5m,” it said.
The Cape Chamber of Commerce is now lobbying for a terminal big enough to accommodate two international cruise liners to be built in the Duncan Dock as part of the development of the Cape Town’s International Convention Centre and entertainment precinct.
Chamber president Michael Bagraim said they were planning talks with the National Port Authority and were confident of their support.
“Three berths for cruise ships would mean thousands of affluent tourists in Cape Town every week and the positive economic impact would be felt throughout the city.”
He said the idea tied in well with the existing expansion plans for the convention centre precinct, leading hotels, theatres and the Waterfront. “If there is to be a casino, it will make this whole area an unbeatable tourist magnet.”
The possibility of a casino near the Waterfront was recently mooted as part of the Western Cape’s regeneration plan announced by MEC for Public Works and Transport Robin Carlisle.
The suggestion of a cruise ship terminal with two berths in the Duncan Dock and a third one for smaller ships in the V&A Waterfront was made in the report commissioned by the city council and completed last year.
Bagraim said the report suggested that revenue from the casino licence could meet some of the development costs.
Well-heeled tourists who arrived in Cape Town were currently greeted by a potholed, cracked road which they had to negotiate to get to a bus or taxi.
“It’s awful. They have to walk along this road while being blown around by the southeaster. A lot of the older tourists choose to stay on board,” Bagraim said.
He said it would make sense to put up proper facilities. Ocean travel was big business, second only to air travel, yet South Africa was missing out.
The city’s report said: “There exists a dilemma for the City of Cape Town, whereby it is felt that the current number of cruise arrivals is insufficient to warrant a large capital outlay, while the major cruise operators insist that they will not increase their supply of vessels to the area until the appropriate infrastructure exists.”
Bagraim said the private sector was ready to invest in the precinct development which already had the strong support of the city, the province, the Cape Town Partnership and the Chamber of Commerce.
“If we add the cruise liner terminal the whole project becomes irresistible.
“It would be the biggest thing for Cape Town since the V&A Waterfront,” he said.
It was also a better potential earner than the existing industrial plans for ship repairs and services to oil and gas rigs.
“Industries like this can be much better served from Saldanha, which is more conveniently located and has deep water and ample room for expansion. It also fits in with plans for an industrial development zone for the port,” Bagraim said.
The report said the alternative sites for a cruise liner terminal were the Eastern Mole in Cape Town harbour, Granger Bay, Simon’s Town and Saldanha.
Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for economic development and tourism, Felicity Purchase, said improvements were long overdue.
Cape Town needed to be a home-port which meant that cruise ships would be based in the harbour over the summer months, with people flying in to go cruising, as happened in places like Mauritius. The advantages were that people stayed longer and spent more money, she said.
Port engineer Magenthran Ruthenavelu of the Transnet National Ports Authority said cruise ships currently calling at the port were accommodated in the Duncan Dock facility.
“At this stage a small number of vessels are calling (below 10 per annum) and current facilities are used to accommodate these vessels,” he said.
Some provision had been made in the port’s long-term development framework plan to house such facilities at Duncan Dock depending on the demand at the time, Ruthenavelu said. - Weekend Argus