A direct flight between New York and Cape Town is expected to bring new levels of access to the North American market.
The route, operated by United Airlines, is set to start running from 16 December.
The non-stop route will fly between Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, New York, and Cape Town International Airport.
The City of Cape Town's mayco member for economic opportunities, James Vos, says the route has led to positive partnerships with key role players in the tourism and business industries in both cities.
The City expects that the direct route will have the following impact:
- The new route will bring in 24 000 additional inbound passengers.
- Overall travellers from the United States will grow by 20%.
- At least 900 new jobs will be created during the first year of operations.
- The route will result in a R421 million boost in tourism spend by 2021.
Cape Town's many attractions are now displayed in bus shelters and kiosks across New York.— James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities & Assets Management - City of Cape Town
It will open up many travel and trade opportunities between Cape Town and North America.— James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities & Assets Management - City of Cape Town
Cape Town Tourism has partnered with NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organisation there, in an effort to grow tourism between the two cities.
Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy says there's been an 11% increase in arrivals to the Mother City since the mutually beneficial partnership with NYC & Company started.
The US market has always been the one that has a lot of potentials, but the biggest barrier for us was flights and trying to get people to visit our destination.— Enver Duminy, CEO at Cape Town Tourism
We use each other's media assets and we basically run our campaigns in each other's cities.— Enver Duminy, CEO at Cape Town Tourism
Listen to the full discussion on Today with Kieno Kammies:
This article first appeared on CapeTalk : Four ways the new direct CT-NY flight will change the tourism game for Cape Town