Drought drives visitors — and their money — away from Cape Town
Nonprofit organisation the Global Sourcing Association says it is postponing a major March conference in Cape Town to later in 2018
Cape Town’s chronic drought is hurting visitor numbers and knocking a rare economic bright spot, officials say. With experts predicting Cape Town will run out of water in mid-April, residents have been told to limit usage to 50l per person per day. An average bath holds 80l of water. Hotels have asked guests not to use baths and to limit showers to two minutes or less, while some restaurants are switching to disposable cups and ditching table linen. About 10-million tourists visited Cape Town in 2017, drawn by iconic sights such as Table Mountain, its long sandy beaches and clutch of nearby wine farms. Tourism accounted for an estimated 9% of SA’s economic output, or R412bn. Though visitors are sympathetic to Cape Town’s plight, there are fears that people may stay away due to the inconvenience of water restrictions or because they don’t want to add to demand. "There’s no doubt that the knock-on effect of the water conservation crossroads we find ourselves in has had an impact on to...
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