South Africa
But while everybody might love a bargain – and the minimal time change of flying due south is also conducive – interest in the country is being truly heightened by the ever-increasing cool factor of Cape Town. Its rugged good looks, world-class restaurants, covetable art, edgy street scene, quirky fashion and design stores, hip coffee hangouts and owner-run artisanal cocktail bars are the true drawcards here. Plus, it’s an easy place to get around as the heart of the city fits neatly between the Atlantic Ocean and iconic Table Mountain. Travel 2 finds people generally book about
four months out for luxury jaunts to Cape Town. However, booking early is better, as it ensures clients can get exactly what they want and also gives them a chance of securing reservations at the city’s most sought-after tables, including The Test Kitchen and La Colombe. The UK continues to be South Africa’s
strongest overseas market, confirms Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy. And according to Statistics South Africa, there were 407,486 UK visitors to South Africa in 2015, up 1.4% year on year. The majority ended up in Cape Town, either
post-safari or tacked onto a couple of days in the Cape winelands, where Leeu Collection’s luxury properties such as the new Leeu Estates (opening June 15), exquisitely decorated farm cottages on Boschendal and additional suites and a new wine tasting centre at Babylonstoren are a few of the best addresses between the vineyards.
While Duminy admits that 2015 was a challenging year for the industry, owing to complications regarding visa and birth certificate restrictions, the significant growth in the fourth quarter of last year set the tone for a buoyant start to 2016; total international arrivals at Cape Town International airport were up almost 9% year-on-year in 2015. The newly spruced-up Table Bay in the V&A
Waterfront also reports an enormous growth in UK travellers in 2015, with the UK accounting for almost 20% of guests. From December to February, Ellerman House
also gets plenty of regular UK guests. “We call them our ‘swallows’ – those who return to their second home for our summer, their winter,” says Lindsy Terry, sales and marketing manager for this small, private hotel on the Atlantic seaboard. “Having said that, March and April are also in greater demand than a year or two ago. We have a mix of 6 to 12-month out bookings and last-minute requests for mini breaks. People also seem to booking slightly longer – on average four nights,” says Terry.
Up & away So far so good, but the “getting there” part is still something of a sticking point as flights are steep, especially in South Africa’s peak summer months when Brits follow the sun, so that needs to be off-set against the phenomenal on-the- ground value-for-money.
But the introduction of more direct flights to
Cape Town and increased capacity at the city’s international airport has been hugely positive, too, throwing more competition into the mix. As Travel 2’s Rebecca Turner says: “With the
introduction of more direct flight options, it will hopefully increase competition as the flights are still expensive.” Recently, airfares have improved with the
arrival of Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and increased Emirates flights to South Africa. Equally encouraging is British Airways’ new flights from Gatwick to Cape Town three times a week from November 24, complementing its twice-daily Cape Town-Heathrow service. This makes it the only airline to offer direct services from both Gatwick and Heathrow to Cape Town. Once there, travellers are increasingly looking
for unique experiences. Walking tours, Cape Malay cooking classes
and adrenalin-fuelled outdoor activities, such as trail running on the slopes of Table Mountain, are displacing the more obvious attractions, such as Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Clifton’s wind-sheltered beaches. Adventure tourism also helps extend the
season for the likes of Ingram Casey, founder of Escape+Explore. It has curated some of Cape Town’s most off-the-beaten-track adventures to open visitors’ eyes to the adrenalin-fuelled,
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