For 6 months of the year Cape Town is fully booked, we need to spread out our tourism - SATSA chief

David Frost, CEO of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, joins Crystal Orderson (in for CapeTalk's John Maytham).

Barcelona residents have taken to the streets again to protest against an overwhelming influx of tourists, which they say is driving them out of their homes and eroding their quality of life. The weekend's demonstrations formed part of a southern Europe-wide outpouring of frustration.

What does this spell for the future of  Cape Town, the 'crown jewel' destination for tourists visiting South Africa?

David Frost, CEO of Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), puts our domestic situation into perspective.

He points out that in 2024, Barcelona attracted 50 million visitors and Spain as a country recorded 94 million arrivals.

South Africa in contrast, drew a national total of 2.1 million visitors.

"When people talk about overtourism and those numbers... in many ways we should not aspire to that quantum because as a long-haul destinations we're limited by air access. But, we should certainly be looking at at least doubling our international arrivals."

David Frost, CEO - SATSA

"Having said that, the jewel in our crown in our product offering is Cape Town and the  team both at a city and provincial level have done an amazing job in positioning it as a sought-after world city."

David Frost, CEO - SATSA

At the same time, Frost highlights the particular geography and transport infrastructure limitations of the city.

It is important to consider geographical spread to accommodate all the tourists visiting during the peak season (September to end-March), he says.

"We've got to be cognisant in terms of how we manage it - we're not in a position for instance like Dubai where they simply just put up another 30-storey hotel skyscraper to absorb the influx, but what we are looking at and working with our members around is the area of geographical spread."

David Frost, CEO - SATSA

"A mindset of, instead of having this obsession to actually have to stay in Cape Town and then do a day trip to the winelands, why don't we turn that around? Why don't we look at spreading our tourist receipt into the greater Western Cape area let people stay maybe in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Elgin, and then access the attractions Cape Town has to offer."

David Frost, CEO - SATSA

Also, Cape Town and the Kruger National Park are the prime venues being sold to tourists at the moment, and the rest of the country is just not getting its fair share, Frost says.

He believes there needs to be a concerted tourism campaign to draw visitors to what should be other destination hotspots.

"We have amazing attractions, and needn't become a monolithic tourism destination - my concern is if we insist in putting Cape Town on every single itinerary we sell and for six months of the year we're full, it means as a country we can't grow our volumes beyond 2.1 million."

David Frost, CEO -  SATSA

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