Mireille Wenger, Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities said today:
I join Premier Alan Winde in celebrating the removal of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions, which will provide a major boost to our province’s events industry in particular.
I also call on our residents to get out and support events across our province, so that we can claw back jobs that were lost during the pandemic.
The Western Cape Government recognises the importance of this industry to our province, which is home to major local and international events, including business tourism events.
This not only strengthens our tourism and hospitality sector, but also attracts potential business creators and investors to our shores to do business in the Western Cape.
That is precisely why, through our official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency, Wesgro, we have dedicated programmes to support events in the province.
Wesgro’s leisure tourism unit supported 52 leisure tourism events in the 2021/2022 financial year, including major events such as the Cape Epic, Two Oceans Marathon, Cape Town Carnival, Cape Town Cycle Tour and the Cape Town Marathon.
In the first quarter of this financial year, this unit has already supported 30 events to deliver economic benefit across the regions of the province.
Also based at Wesgro, the Cape Town and the Western Cape Convention Bureau, secured 18 bids for business tourism events to the Western Cape during the 2021/22 financial year, with an estimated economic impact of R264 million. During 2022 we expect international conferences such as the 36th International Conference on Lighting Protection and the Global Self-Care World Congress, to name a few.
During the first quarter of this financial year, the bureau has already secured 12 new bids for the Western Cape with an estimated economic impact of R97 million. A total of 21 bids for conferences in our province have also already been submitted over this same period, which would lead to an economic impact of R250 million if converted.
From Springbok matches, to theatre productions, from the Netball World Cup to community festivals, we have so much to look forward to over the next few years. Let’s now do our bit by getting out and supporting events, whenever we can, so that we remain Africa’s Events Capital.
