Cape Town Air Access named destination marketing runner-up at World Routes 2018

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Canary Island Tourist Board – Promotur (which saw 151 new routes established in 2017) walked away with the destination marketing award.

Cape Town Air Access was shortlisted following their win at Routes Africa 2018, where the team was awarded best destination marketing award as well as the overall Routes Africa award. Since its inception in 2015, the CTAA team has assisted in the establishment of 13 new routes and the expansion of 18 existing ones. During this period, more than 750 000 inbound seats were added to its international network.

"We are proud of this accolade attributed to the Cape Town Air Access Team, and would like to thank our partners Bradley Brouwer from South African Tourism, Enver Duminy from Cape Town Tourism, Deon Cloete from Airports Company South Africa, Lance Greyling from the City of Cape Town and Rashid Toefy from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism – for their unwavering support.

"The Cape Town Air Access initiative is an example of the potential that can be achieved when collaboration takes place across government and the private sector. We look forward to continuing to secure new direct routes and expand on existing routes," said Tim Harris, Wesgro CEO.

Brussels Airport was named the overall winner, winning the 20-50 million passengers category award. Despite being located in one of the most competitive regions of Europe, the airport managed to pass the 25 million passenger mark for the first time in its history.

The power of collaboration

Cape Town International Airport’s general manager, Deon Cloete congratulated the team saying: "Cape Town Air Access is an example of the power of collaboration. This recognition is a testament to the fact that it has become a formidable global player. Our beautiful city, especially the tourism industry has yielded significant benefits since its inception in 2015.

"Within the airport context, we will continue to play our role in ensuring that we facilitate air access into the region. We remain committed to delivering a quality experience with world-class infrastructure. Airports Company South Africa is proud to be a part of the Air Access initiative and we extend our congratulations to the Wesgro led team and all the other partners that work hard to ensure that we are visible on the international stage - we look forward to working even harder to connect Cape Town and the Western Cape at large to the world."

Executive Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille added: "The City of Cape Town is proud of this achievement and of Cape Town Access' accomplishment illustrates how we can deliver on our goals to create a globally competitive city if all three spheres of government and the private sector work together.

"The growth of this partnership over the last two years has been encouraging especially with Air Access successfully attracting more flights and seating capacity between African cities and the world. As the City of Cape Town, we are committed to continuing this partnership and further competing with the best globally."

"The Cape Town Air Access team, a collaboration between government and the private sector, have changed the game in terms of accessibility to our destination. Their relentless pursuit of direct flights to Cape Town has yielded the addition of 1.5 million two way seats, bringing job-creating tourists to our region. I am thrilled that we have secured this accolade, and congratulate the team and our partners in this project for their hard work," concluded Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities.