South Africa: Cape Town and the Western Cape is set for another bumper cruise season in 2025-26. The Cape Town Cruise Season has been officially launched that marks another year of strong growth, collaboration and opportunity for the thriving cruise tourism industry of the region.
Reportedly, the 2025-26 Cruise Season is hosted by Cruise Cape Town and is powered by Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, doing marketing at the global level. The recent Cruise Season celebrated record-breaking results from the 2024-25 season, that included:
- 127,000 passengers
- R1.79 billion contributed to the Western Cape GDP-R
- 39% growth in international passenger arrivals, far above the global 9% rate
As per the sources, the cruise industry and the sector prepare for another bumper cruise season. The Cruise Cape Town unveiled that Why Cruise to Cape Town and the Western Cape Guide as a powerful tool to attract more vessels to the shores.
Considering this, CEO of Wesgro – Wrenelle Stander as the official spokesperson for Cruise Cape Town stated that this guide tells the story of a region that doesn’t just welcome ships but welcome the opportunity.
However, with public-private collaboration at its heart, the cruise sector of the Cape Town is setting new benchmarks for economic growth. The global cruise industry sails towards nearly R39.7 million passengers by the year 2027, as Cape Town is firmly charting its course as Africa’s premier homeport.
Cape Town has successfully homeported elite cruise lines while attracting increasing numbers of international travellers, moving beyond being merely a stopover for ‘positioning’ cruises. Such shifts offer tremendous upside opportunities for the city and will enrich the experience of repeated travellers and will also expand the base of new international arrivals to the city.
Notably, Cape Town will remove the off-season blues for cruise afficionados in Africa by providing counter season offerings with cruise deals during the 2025-26 season. Cape Town will feature a homeport offering for the Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Costa Cruises making Cape Town a celebrated cruise hub.
The homeport offering has been bundled with a variety of themed cruises and other longer itineraries, attracting substantial new interest from international cruise lines. As Cape Town homeports, voyage tourists can enjoy 5-star road and tour infrastructure to preview or review the city and region.
Cape Town is a perfect starting point for travellers headed to the southern tip of Africa and other places because of the culture and nature sights. In April 2026, the Queen Mary 2 will offer a 17-day trip out of the southern tip of Africa to Southampton, and other cruises will link Cape Town with several ports of call to Doha and Europe.