South Africa: Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape marketing at global level has presented clear insights from Cape Town Hospitality Conference.
Reportedly, Wesgro, in partnership with the French-South African Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FSACCI) and the Belgian Chamber of Commerce for Southern Africa has hosted the 4th annual Cape Town Tourism & Hospitality Conference.
During the annual rendez-vous, Wesgro provided an overview of the tourism & hospitality considering the key figures in South Africa. It took a deep dive into the 2025 perspective for Cape Town. The conference was followed by a round-table discussion with experts to share their insights and vision of the sector.
Moreover, the CEO of Wesgro – Wrenelle Stander opened the gathering with a keynote address that highlighted the strong performance of the region. However, the key insights includes some major points that are:
- Average visitors stayed in the Western Cape that increased to 12.7 nights in year 2024.
- Cape Town has been ranked as no.1 at global level for RevPAR that stands for ‘Revenue Per Room Available’ and saw the growth of +27% in 2024.
- The season now extends to end April with Air France or KLM flights.
- Mama Shelter by Accor, is a community-first hospitality model launching in Cape Town.
- The shared tourism data enables faster and smarter decisions through predictive AI.
- Also, the infrastructure development must keep pace with sector growth.
Notably, with Cape Town and the Western Cape, Wesgro is repidly emerging as a year-round, inclusive and globally competitive destination. Wesgro is also enhancing the tourism experience while supporting sustainable growth in visitor numbers.
Considering this, the tourism and hospitality industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with Cape Town at the forefront of innovation and sustainable growth. As global trends shift and travelers seek more immersive, sustainable and technology-driven experiences, such as ;
- How is your business adapting to these changes?
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges your company faces in this shifting landscape? etc.
Cape Town Tourism & Hospitality Conference
The event was held on Tuesday, April 08, 2025 between 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.at Cape Town City Centre. Due to limited capacity it was hosted for FSACCI members only.
The Agenda of the conference comprised of welcoming and tourism update on key figures and trends by the CEO of Wesgro – Wrenelle Stander. It also observed round-table discussion with experts in the tourism and hospitality industry, moderated by Gilled Blanc (FSACCI – Esus Group), followed by the Q&A session and networking opportunities.
The Panel Discussion allowed the attendees to engage on the topics such as; Major Trends in Cape Town’s Tourism Landscape – Understanding shifting consumer behaviors and emerging market dynamics. Second is; Sustainable & Environmentally Friendly Tourism – Balancing growth with responsible tourism practices. And; Technological Integration in Travel (AI & Beyond) – The role of AI and digital transformation in reshaping the industry.
Furthermore, the confirmed Panelists invited Country Manager Southern Africa at Air France-KLM – Wilson Tauro; managing Partner – Co-Chief Executive Officer at Kasada Capital Management – Olivier Granet; Managing Partner Africa at Artefact – Mederic Chomel; Managing partner at SATravellers – Filip Wuyts and Chief Tourism Officer of Wesgro – Monika Ieul.