Tourism statistics for last year showed that the number of visitors from China rose by 63 percent and both Lim Wei-Peng, Singapore Airlines’ manager in Cape Town, and David Ryan, Cathay Pacific Airlines’ manager in South Africa, confirmed that large numbers had arrived on their flights, some in tour groups. Lim said there was growing affluence in China and people were travelling more. Ryan said he believed many of those arriving were tourists and the World Cup had probably encouraged this. But he thought most of them were on business or coming on contract work and many were bound for other countries in Africa.
Whatever the reason, let’s hope a big increase in Chinese passengers coming to Cape Town, or leaving from here if they originally arrived in Johannesburg, will cause Singapore Airlines to increase the number of non-stop flights from here in the holiday season and to retain some in the low season, when they now make a refuelling stop in Johannesburg.
SAA is expected to start its first direct service to the Chinese mainland soon, with flights between Johannesburg and Beijing, although no date has been announced yet. Fanie Zulu, its head of corporate affairs, tells me it had already decided to do so without any persuasion from the department of tourism. The department, which has certainly encouraged it to start the route, hopes it will follow that with a route to Shanghai as well. Lim and Ryan told me they didn’t see this new competition as a threat to their market share, because both their airlines offer flights to a number of destinations in China.
Large numbers of South Africans go to the Chinese mainland by way of Hong Kong on the daily flights from Johannesburg by Cathay and SAA. Ryan said Cathay offers seven flights a day from Hong Kong to Shanghai and its passengers can transfer to its local and regional subsidiary, Dragonair, which offers more. Both Cathay and Singapore offer flights from their home airports to a number of Chinese cities.
Meanwhile we can expect to see many more Chinese visitors – members of Singapore’s large Chinese community – in the city later this month.
Spotlight Singapore, an organisation that encourages both cultural and business contacts with other cities, has arranged a visit by performing artists and musicians, business people and students, that is due to start on March 16 and is expected to lead to a permanent connection. Spotlight Singapore has similar connections with other cities, including Hong Kong, Tokyo and Moscow. Its original intention in this country was a link with Johannesburg. But the organisers came on from there to Cape Town and felt more at home here because of the similarities between the cities. Both are ports and attractive tourism destinations.
They expect the link with Cape Town to result in some businesses being set up here and a lot of tourism from there in our low season, when it is particularly welcome, to escape the heat in Singapore at that time of year.
Since we are also hoping to attract more tourism from the United Arab Emirates at that time of year, also to escape the heat, Cape Town may at last succeed in eliminating its low season altogether.
Audrey.D’[email protected] - Weekend Argus