Cape Town opens 2026/27 cruise season as regional traffic grows
Pacific World’s arrival comes after increases in passenger volumes, expedition calls and cruise-related economic activity in Southern and East Africa.
Pacific World opened Cape Town’s 2026/27 cruise season on September 17 with 1,397 passengers and 655 crew, according to Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
The Seatrade Africa E-report said Cape Town handled 79 cruise vessels and 127,000 passengers in 2024/25, up from 70 vessels and about 78,000 passengers in 2022/23. Expedition calls increased from five in 2023/24 to 16 in 2024/25, according to Seatrade.
Wesgro reported that cruise tourism contributed R4.34 billion to Western Cape GDP and R5.32 billion to South African GDP across three seasons, alongside R3.04 billion in cumulative foreign-exchange earnings. The Seatrade report said Mossel Bay, Hermanus and Saldanha Bay received 32,000 passengers across 26 ship visits in 2024/25, generating R47.5 million in local spending.
In Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service introduced a 30% group incentive in March for cruise travellers visiting parks including Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli. The government aims to double the share of cruise passengers extending their trips to parks and reserves from about 20% to 40%, estimating that this could lift overall park revenue by as much as 40%. A Ministry of Tourism calculation cited by the Kenya News Agency estimated that a short cruise stop could generate about Sh50 million.