Cape Town’s tourism sector is looking to India to drive growth as leaders from both regions met this month to deepen ties in trade, tourism, technology and film.
Held at the Taj Cape Town, the event was hosted by the Consul General of India in Cape Town Ruby Jaspreet and the City of Cape Town’s Director of Economic Development and Investment Lance Greyling. Key South African speakers included Wrenelle Stander, CEO of Wesgro, and Clayton Williams, CEO of CapeBPO, as well as Rahul Jain, CEO and Co-Founder of Peach Payments.
FEDHASA Cape Chairperson Lee-Anne Singer, who also attended the event, said: “India and the Western Cape share strengths in culture, innovation and enterprise. Tourism partnerships in hospitality, tech and film can drive growth and create much-needed jobs.”
Highlights from the dialogue included opportunities for Bollywood film production in Cape Town, the creation of scalable digital health solutions and growing interest in the city as a hub for business process outsourcing (BPO) – a sector already contributing R23 billion (€1 billion) annually to Cape Town’s economy.
Tour operator perspective on India market
Speaking to Tourism Update, Johan Groenewald, Founder and MD of Royal African Discoveries welcomed the city’s efforts to strengthen ties with India. “Such missions help in raising the profile of the destination and will hopefully help in correcting the slide in profile and tourist numbers we’ve experienced in the past few years,” he said.
Groenewald noted the positive impact of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme on the Indian market, saying it has improved the confidence of Indian agents to promote South Africa. “The scheme is working well and is fast and efficient – and will hopefully continue to be as we enter the peak travel season from now.”
Confidence in visa processes is critical, given that the Indian market tends to book last-minute travel, he added. “If there are questions on the effective and efficient processing of visa applications, the destination is often not considered and replaced by others with a better visa regime and process.”
On the importance of connectivity, Groenewald said direct flights between India and Cape Town are becoming increasingly important. “Many of our key competitor destinations now have direct flights to and from India. South Africa thus keeps falling behind in the attractiveness scale compared to our competitors.”
Asked about tourism trends, Groenewald said Royal African Discoveries has long adapted its product offering to the needs of Indian travellers. “We have always been at the forefront of innovating and adapting based on our clients’ requirements.”
