African cruise destinations report growth and expand tourism links
Cape Town opened its 2026/27 season as cruise activity increased across several African destinations.
Pacific World began Cape Town’s 2026/27 cruise season on September 17, arriving with 1,397 passengers and 655 crew, according to Wesgro, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s tourism, trade and investment promotion agency.
The Seatrade Africa E-report said Cape Town hosted 79 cruise vessels and 127,000 passengers during 2024/25, compared with 70 vessels carrying about 78,000 passengers in 2022/23. Seatrade also reported that expedition calls to the city increased from five in 2023/24 to 16 in 2024/25.
Wesgro calculated that cruise tourism contributed R4.34 billion to Western Cape GDP and R5.32 billion to South African GDP across three seasons.
Elsewhere, the Kenya Wildlife Service introduced a 30% group incentive in March for cruise visitors traveling to parks including Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli. Kenya’s government aims to double the proportion of cruise passengers extending their visits to parks and reserves from about 20% to 40%, estimating that the change could lift overall park revenue by as much as 40%.
AmaWaterways added four Africa Safaris & Wildlife itineraries in August 2026, pairing its Chobe River cruise with land programs covering destinations including Namibia, Kenya and Victoria Falls. In Cape Verde, Seatrade recorded 110,554 cruise passengers and 250 calls in 2024, up from 86,945 passengers and 171 calls in 2023.