CASE STUDY

Economic Contribution of the 2024/25 Western Cape Cruise Liner Industry

Quantifying the Tourism and Economic Impact of an Expanding Cruise Season

Client: Western Cape Government | Sector: Tourism & Maritime | Location: Western Cape, South Africa

R1.79bn

WC GDP-R contribution

2 345

Provincial jobs supported

127 000

Passengers this season

R1.33bn

Net foreign exchange inflow

+32%

Growth in total expenditure (YoY)

The Challenge

The Western Cape Government required an independent assessment of the economic value generated by the 2024/25 cruise liner season. With vessel arrivals and passenger numbers up 18% and 16% respectively, there was an urgent need to quantify the industry’s contribution to GDP, employment, household income and foreign exchange. Credible evidence was needed to support investment decisions, port infrastructure planning and tourism policy, while also accounting for displacement effects at provincial and national levels.

StratEcon's Approach

Collected primary expenditure data for international and domestic passengers, crew members and vessel operators across the 2024/25 season.
Applied input-output macroeconomic modelling to estimate direct, indirect and induced multiplier effects on provincial GDP-R and national GDP, capturing full supply-chain impacts.
Quantified displacement effects at provincial and national level to isolate genuine economic additionality, adjusting total expenditure from R1.99bn to R1.76bn provincially and R1.91bn nationally.
Benchmarked findings against two prior seasons and provincial and national tourism comparators, including international holidaymaker spend and Western Cape visitor spend, to contextualise the industry’s relative contribution.

About the Client

Wesgro is the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, South Africa’s most visited province. It commissioned this study to inform evidence-based policy and investment in the cruise tourism sector.

Impact highlights

● R4.34bn cumulative contribution to Western Cape GDP-R across three seasons
● R3.04bn cumulative net foreign exchange generated for South Africa
● 32 000 cruise passengers visited smaller municipalities including Mossel Bay, Hermanus and Saldanha Bay
● R47.5m injected into smaller municipal economies from cruise visitor spending

Key Findings

The 2024/25 season contributed R1.79bn to Western Cape GDP-R, a 31% real increase over 2023/24 and equivalent to 0.17% of the provincial economy.
A total of 2 345 provincial jobs were supported, with retail (44%), hospitality (27%) and business services (9%) the leading employment sectors.
At national level, the season contributed R2.34bn to South African GDP and supported 2 959 full-time equivalent jobs.
Net foreign exchange inflows of R1.33bn were recorded, with international passengers (68%) and vessel expenditure (29%) the dominant contributors.
Cumulatively across three seasons, the industry has contributed R4.34bn to Western Cape GDP-R and R5.32bn to national GDP.

The Outcome

StratEcon’s analysis gave the Western Cape Government a comprehensive, defensible evidence base to advocate for continued investment in cruise tourism infrastructure and policy. The report demonstrates a consistently strengthening industry, with the 2024/25 season delivering the largest real economic contribution of the three seasons assessed. The cumulative R5.32bn national GDP contribution underscores the industry’s strategic value, while benchmarking against Tourism SA comparators positions the cruise sector as a meaningful and growing component of the province’s visitor economy.

Sector context

The global cruise industry has rebounded strongly post-pandemic. Cape Town and the Western Cape are positioned as a premier African cruise destination, attracting world cruise vessels, international coastal voyages and expedition ships. The 2024/25 season recorded 79 vessel visits, 18% more than the prior year, with international passengers growing at 39%, well above the 9% global industry growth rate.

Services Delivered

See the Quality of Our Work for Yourself

Download the report of the Economic Contribution of the 2024/25 Western Cape Cruise Liner Industry.