A few days ago I read that Cape Town tourism has grown by 7.5% during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to same time during 2016.
You’ll agree that is huge. We have a water crisis, yet tourists are still flocking to Cape Town.
Did you know that tourists only contribute 1% to the Cape Town population?
By the way; it is raining as I write this. And we expect more this approaching winter. But that’s no excuse. Cape Town will never again waste water easily.
But back to my point-
Even Cape Town International Airport has to expand as more and more people are arriving. Great stuff for Cape Town tourism.
What about R6.6 billion?
Yes, that is a lot even in ZAR. Tourism in Cape Town brought in this amount since 2013.
No wonder we have 24 direct international air routes to Cape Town. With a capacity of 700000 people from 20 countries.
Airbnb turnover, in the Western Cape during 2017, was only R5 billion. With guest numbers growing by 86% vs 2016.
Can it get any better?
Well, let me tell you that Cape Town contributes to 25% of all Airbnb’s Africa income.
And last year the nearly 15000 Cape Town places on Airbnb hosted 450000 guests. With a third coming from South Africa.
Next in line was the USA (54600) then the UK (54000).
And Cape Town Airbnb hosts earned R1 billion. These guests spend about R1750 per day at Cape Town businesses.
Is this all good news?
Minister Gigaba and his draconian visum restrictions are still a major concern.
Water scarcity will hopefully be resolved after this winter. But remember that tourism only contributes 1% to the population during the year. But their financial impact is huge.
All guests at our homes go out of their way to support water saving.
Homeowners may think they should make more money with all this good news.
Sorry HomeOwner.
Airbnb is driven by quantity first. And quantity drives your rates down. Yes, more guests are arriving but don’t be fooled into thinking its just easy money.
Only remarkability sells. Ensure your home is remarkable and improve on that every day. Then you will make more money compared to the average homes which make up the numbers.
Have fun and invest in Cape Town but ensure it is remarkable.
