Days after the World Health Organization declared that Covid was no longer a global emergency, one sector virtually wiped out by the pandemic is back with a vengeance: cruising.

Cruise operators have been banking on this bounceback for years. In January, a survey by AAA Travel, one of North America’s largest leisure travel agencies, predicted that the cruise industry would make a strong recovery this year after suffering significant financial losses caused by Covid-19 restrictions. 

The survey found that 52% of US adults were “just as likely” or “more likely” to consider taking a cruise holiday as they were before the Covid-19 pandemic — up from 45% a year ago.

Another US survey, by Cruiseline.com and Shipmate, found that 91.4% of respondents reported they planned to take a cruise within the next year.

The appetite of North Americans, Germans and Brits for cruising is evident in South Africa too. As this country’s biggest source markets — and biggest spenders — they have helped drive the local cruise tourism sector to a record-breaking season.

Wesgro’s Cruise Cape Town initiative announced that this past season, which began in October 2022 and wraps up at the end of this month, has welcomed 145,000 cruise passengers and 42,000 crew members to the city.

The city’s cruise season opened on 19 October 2022 with the arrival of German-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic Spirit, which added Cape Town to its cruise schedule for the first time. 

Double the number of ship calls

In total, the 2022/2023 season welcomed 75 ships with 41 turnaround visits, which is double the number of ship calls than in the last full season of 2019/2020, which saw 39 ship visits with about 42,000 arriving passengers.

The cruise initiative is dedicated to developing itinerary offerings to bring in more international cruise partners. For the first time, Cape Town’s Cruise Terminal saw three ships conduct turnaround visits, during which ships arrive at the end of one cruise and prepare for the start of another, on the same day.

The MSC Orchestra cruise ship at Cape Town harbour on 13 January 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Jaco Marais)

During the turnaround, the ship undergoes a thorough cleaning and restocking, which allows local products to be loaded on to the ship, boosting the economy. Disembarking passengers are also likely to take post-cruise tours.

Western Cape Minister for Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger said cruise tourism contributes significantly to the economy and the knock-on effect of cruise ships, through passenger spending and across the whole value chain, cannot be understated.

“I look forward to working with all stakeholders to attract even more cruise ships to the province so we can help this sector contribute even more to our economy and create many more jobs for our residents.”

Remarkable success

CEO of the V&A Waterfront David Green hailed the return of the full cruise season to the city as a remarkable success. 

“It’s been exciting to welcome back local and international cruises including the iconic world cruises such as the Queen Mary 2, highlighting the value of our destination to the choice of global traveller experiences. The Waterfront, as the operator of the terminal, continues to invest in an improved traveller experience at the terminal to surpass the regular as well as new generation of vacationers to the city.”

The Queen Mary 2 sailed into Cape Town’s port last month — three years after its previous trip in South African waters was halted by Covid. The Queen Mary is the second-largest passenger ship (still afloat) in the world and is the largest and most expensive ship to dock in Cape Town harbour.

Wrenelle Stander, the CEO of Wesgro who speaks for Cruise Cape Town, said the success of the past Cape Town cruise season highlights the untapped potential held by this lucrative tourism sector, which significantly boosts visitor numbers.

“The Cruise Cape Town initiative is currently conducting a comprehensive economic impact study which is expected to be finalised in the coming months. We are confident the results will demonstrate the significant economic impact and job creation potential of the sector. Together with our partners, we look forward to continuing to support the cruise industry.”

It is estimated that cruise passengers spend almost R100-million for each port visit.

Last year, Stander was quoted in Southern and East African Tourism Update as saying that cruise tourism generates R300-million in annual economic impact and supports thousands of jobs in Cape Town and the Western Cape. DM/BM