OVERVIEW
Tourism Covid-19 waves are causing uncertainty. SECTOR INSIGHT The Winchester Hotel has reopened under new management.
W
ith uncertainty about exactly who could travel to South Africa, occupation rates for the 2021/22 season could not be accurately predicted but everyone agreed that having a good season would be vital for the health of the sector. City Lodge Hotels reported 60% occupancy rates over the Heritage Day long weekend, a signal that domestic tourism was picking up. December bookings at many of South Africa’s resorts were good but at the end of November, all signs were that a fourth wave was descending. Many tourism operators in the Western Cape were pinning their hopes on the 2021 tour by the British and Irish Lions, but Covid-19 allowed for no spectators or followers. A hoped-for tax benefit to South Africa of about R450-million did not materialise. A landmark on the Sea Point boulevard, the Winchester Hotel (pictured), reopened in 2021 after new owners Newmark spent R90-million on a major revamp. Having been built to house residential apartments, what became Winchester Gardens was famous for its jazz and Sunday teas. The 76-room hotel is now a luxury boutique hotel. In 2019, Cape Town Tourism projected that the value to the Western Cape of the cruise-ship industry between 2017 and 2027 would be about R220-billion. And then Covid-19 hit. Major investments have been made in the Cruise Ship Terminal, near the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and the Cape Town Air Access programme. Air Access created more than 750 000 new inbound seats between its inception in 2015 and 2020, adding something like R6-billion to the provincial economy. In ONLINE RESOURCES Cape Nature: www.capenature.co.za Garden Route and Klein Karoo: www.visitgardenrouteandkleinkaroo.com Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2022
38
2019/20 the CTICC secured 52 conferences with an estimated economic impact of R2.3-billion. Unfor tunately, the conferences and events sector is likely to be hit as badly as the cruise-ship industry. Fo l l o w i n g t h e m a j o r drought experienced by the Western Cape, the Westin Cape Town has taken steps to reduce its dependence on the municipality for water. The hotel’s position on reclaimed land in the CTICC precinct of the Foreshore means that about 1.2-million litres of seawater have to be taken out of the basement every day. This water is converted into 441 000 litres of clean water by reverse osmosis which saves more than 100-million litres of municipal water annually. The Westin has also created an organic roof garden, from which it supplies its restaurants with vegetables. The Western Cape Provincial Government wants to promote education in the arts. Based on research which found that 6% of employment in South Africa is in the cultural sector, the Western Cape will expand the traditional STEM emphasis to include two additional As: Arts and Agriculture. There are 60 000 people employed in the culture sector in the province. ■
