South Africa's Cape Town Airport Sees Record Number of Int'l Passengers in 2023

This eclipsed the previous benchmark of 2.6 million passengers recorded in 2019, the year before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement posted on the official website of the Western Cape Tourism, Trade, and Investment Promotion Agency.

"Additionally, the total two-way international passenger figures for 2023 have nearly doubled over the past decade from 1.5 million two-way international passengers recorded in 2013," read the statement. "This significant increase in passengers showcases the impressive growth in demand for Cape Town and the Western Cape as a premier travel destination."

Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, is also the capital city of the Western Cape province.

According to the statement, more than 317,000 two-way international passengers traveled through the Cape Town International Airport's international terminal in December 2023.

"This is the highest monthly total ever recorded in the history of the airport, beating the previous high of 290,000 passengers processed in January 2020," the statement said. "It is estimated that foreign passengers arriving at the international terminal over this period injected almost 1.9 billion rand (about 100 million U.S. dollars) in direct tourism spend into the Western Cape economy, aiding economic growth and sustaining critical jobs across the province."

"We are thrilled to witness such a remarkable increase in passenger numbers at Cape Town International Airport," said Wrenelle Stander, the chief executive officer of the Western Cape Tourism, Trade, and Investment Promotion Agency, in the statement.

The statement also quoted Alderman James Vos, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee member for Economic Growth, as saying that "these outstanding figures highlight the robustness and diversity of our destination, showcasing the success of our marketing efforts and strategic partnerships."

"Through our collaborative partnerships with various sectors and industry bodies, Cape Town and the province have strengthened connections with key source markets worldwide," he said. "My unwavering commitment is to continue working towards increasing the number of flights bringing investors and visitors, aiming to secure tourism-related jobs in every Cape Town household."

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