A new economic impact study shows that the Cape Town Cruise Terminal welcomed 70 cruise ship calls carrying 145 000 two-way passengers and 42 000 crew members between November 2022 and May this year, says Cruise Cape Town.

This marks the biggest cruise season the passenger terminal has seen to date.

Doubling the number of ship calls seen between 2016 and 2019 – where each season averaged between 35 and 40 ships arriving at the port – the study also revealed an estimated economic injection of more than R1.2-billion into the Western Cape economy.

Cruise Cape Town, powered by Wesgro, is a public–private ecosystem partnership responsible for growing the cruise economy, as well as the sustainability of the cruise industry in Cape Town and the Western Cape.

The economic impact study further revealed that for every 30 arriving cruise passengers, the Western Cape cruise industry created one full-time job. 

This has resulted in 1 800 local jobs created during the 2022/23 season.

The study also reveals that the Port of Mossel Bay welcomed 14 ship visits, nearly doubling the number achieved over the course of the 2019 season. 

It is a stated objective of Cruise Cape Town to improve cruise tourism along the Western Cape coastline, thereby increasing the regional tourism spread to ensure a broader economic impact on the Western Cape economy.

Recent data from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) notes that 63% of cruise passengers are likely to revisit a destination they have first encountered through a cruise ship. 

This multiplier effect holds “profound implications” for tourism in Cape Town and the Western Cape, says Cruise Cape Town.

“It is abundantly clear that the world wants to come to the Western Cape, and we want to get them here as easily and pleasantly as possible,” says Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger.

“As the research now shows, cruise tourism makes an impressive contribution to the provincial economy, supporting many jobs. 

“We are only scratching the surface of the immense potential of cruise tourism to spread benefit across the province, and especially in smaller port towns, like Mossel Bay.

“At the end of the day, more tourists mean more jobs,” says Wenger.