R24.5 billion in direct tourism spend, report worldwide progress, and main campaigns actively constructing tomorrow’s customer economic system.
Cape City, Monday, 15 June 2026 – Cape City’s tourism business generated R24.5 billion in direct tourism spend and sustained greater than 106,000 jobs in 2025, with worldwide customer spending reaching a report R19 billion.
On the identical time, home tourism spend declined, pushed by actual family financial strain on South African households. Cape City Tourism is responding proactively, with campaigns already in market designed to develop customer volumes and spend.
What the Numbers Inform Us
The newly launched 2025 Financial Worth of Tourism report from Cape City Tourism reveals two distinct tales: one in all accelerating worldwide attraction, and one formed by financial pressures bearing down on South African households. International guests got here in better numbers and spent extra. Home travellers got here simply as typically however stayed for shorter intervals and spent much less. Collectively, these forces outline each the place Cape City’s tourism economic system stands at this time and what’s wanted to develop it.
A Vacation spot the World Needs
Cape City continues to draw high-value, long-haul worldwide guests. In 2025, international in a single day guests reached 1.44 million, staying a mean of 9.5 nights and spending R1,390 per day, bringing complete international direct spend to R19 billion.
Knowledge launched by Airports Firm South Africa (Acsa) reveals a report 11.1 million two-way passengers in 2025, with 3.3 million two-way worldwide passengers passing by way of the airport’s worldwide terminal over the yr. This represents a 7% enhance in contrast with 2024. Home two-way passenger numbers reached 7.8 million, additionally a 7% year-on-year enhance.
The town’s prime six supply markets had been the UK (210,932 arrivals), the USA (167,053), Germany (161,271), the Netherlands (70,818), France (68,348), and Australia (51,971).
South Africans Are Nonetheless Travelling, Simply Otherwise
The headline problem in 2025 was a big decline in home tourism spend, reflecting the financial actuality going through South African households. Whereas the variety of home in a single day journeys to Cape City reached 1.42 million, a restoration to 98% of the 2019 complete, the typical keep fell from 5.2 nights to 4.4 nights and each day spend dropped to R882.
Knowledge from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) and South African Tourism (SAT) point out that visiting pals and family members (VFR) journey has elevated. In distinction, discretionary vacation journey declined, with hosts absorbing lodging prices and actions trending towards lower-cost choices.
South Africans are nonetheless selecting Cape City; they’re merely spending extra rigorously. Complete home spend declined from R8.0 billion to R5.5 billion, contributing to the general dip in Tourism Gross Worth Add (GVA) and employment. This isn’t a mirrored image of weakened demand for Cape City as a vacation spot, however of constrained family budgets throughout South Africa.
What We Are Doing About It
Cape City Tourism and the Metropolis of Cape City aren’t ready for situations to enhance. Three lively initiatives are already working to develop customer volumes and spend:
1. CTT Home Marketing campaign: Inspiring South Africans to go to
Cape City Tourism has just lately launched a devoted home tourism marketing campaign beneath the banner ‘You don’t want a vacation. You want My Cape City,’ to capitalise on the clear alternative earlier than us: South Africans wish to journey, and Cape City is the vacation spot they wish to go to. The marketing campaign speaks to the total vary of Cape City experiences, from high-value metropolis breaks to accessible outside adventures, with messaging designed to fulfill households the place they’re economically and to encourage them to make the journey.
2. Regional Partnership with Zimbabwe and Namibia: New Supply Markets
Cape City Tourism and the Metropolis of Cape City have formalised a partnership with tourism counterparts in Zimbabwe and Namibia to extend customer flows to Cape City from throughout the African continent. Regional arrivals grew by 17% in 2025, confirming that our neighbouring markets provide actual alternative. This partnership deepens the collaboration wanted to transform that momentum into sustained progress by way of joint commerce engagement, shared advertising platforms, and coordinated vacation spot growth. Cape City’s attraction throughout Africa is rising, and we’re investing in relationships to construct on this additional.
3. One Small World Marketing campaign: Positioning Cape City Globally
The One Small World marketing campaign is Cape City’s worldwide model platform, positioning the town as a spot of extraordinary human connection, pure magnificence, and world-class experiences. It speaks to high-value, long-haul travellers who already make up our strongest worldwide supply markets: the UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands and France. It additionally works to deepen Cape City’s presence within the consideration units of travellers who haven’t but made the journey. That is the inventive and strategic engine behind our worldwide progress trajectory, and it’s working.
Tourism’s Weight in Cape City’s Financial system
Tourism stays one in all Cape City’s most important financial sectors, accounting for six.3% of the town’s complete Gross Worth Add and greater than 106,000 jobs. The decline in Tourism GVA to R23 billion (-11% YOY) and employment (-8.5% YOY) is straight attributable to a 32% drop in home vacationer spend, partially offset by an 18% enhance in international vacationer spend. The employment decline mirrors the nationwide South African determine, indicating that Cape City’s efficiency is in step with broader sector tendencies.
“Tourism is likely one of the strongest instruments we’ve got for creating jobs and driving financial progress in Cape City,” says Alderman James Vos, the Mayoral Committee Member for Financial Development and Tourism.
“These outcomes present that our technique is working. By specializing in the best markets and campaigns that convert curiosity into bookings, we’re seeing stronger progress in worldwide customer numbers and spending. As I put the ultimate touches on Cape City’s new Tourism Framework 2030, my focus is on rising customer numbers, growing tourism spend, and creating extra alternatives for native companies and residents. Cape City doesn’t stand nonetheless; we make investments, innovate and compete. My ambition is straightforward: to see tourism create alternatives in each neighborhood and assist extra jobs throughout our metropolis,” says Vos.
The Numbers Behind a Thriving Vacation spot
Past the headline spend figures, the 2025 knowledge affirm Cape City’s vacation spot well being. Desk Mountain recorded 1.19 million visits (+19% YOY), and Chapman’s Peak Drive recorded 1.05 million (+23% YOY).
Resort common annual occupancy reached 61.7%, peaking at 81.5% in February with a mean room fee of R2,574.
Tourism accounts for six.3% of Cape City’s complete Gross Worth Add and greater than 106,000 jobs. These are the foundations of a resilient sector.
“The world is voting for Cape City with its ft and its pockets,” says Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape City Tourism. “International vacationer spending grew considerably in a single yr. These aren’t the numbers of a vacation spot beneath strain; they’re the numbers of a metropolis the world needs to go to. Our home marketing campaign, our regional partnerships, and One Small World are all constructed on the identical conviction: we don’t look ahead to situations to alter, we exit and create them.”
The trail ahead is obvious: deepen Cape City’s place in high-value worldwide markets, speed up home restoration by way of focused campaigns, develop the town’s regional African footprint, and be sure that tourism progress interprets into sturdy jobs and financial profit for Cape City’s residents.
