The Port of Cape Town has been ranked as Africa’s Leading Cruise Port for the second consecutive year at the prestigious World Travel Awards, held in Kenya.
Achievement
This recognition is timely as the port prepares for a record-breaking 2024/25 cruise season, anticipating 88 vessel visits and 130,000 passengers. The award highlights the port’s achievements, including the historic simultaneous arrivals of the Cunard Queens—Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2—earlier this year. James Vos, Cape Town’s MMC for Economic Growth, emphasized the significant economic impact, noting that each ship visit injects R100 million into the local economy, boosting tourism and creating jobs.
The V&A Waterfront, which manages the cruise terminal, continues to build on this success, with support from key partners including the Western Cape Government, Transnet National Ports Authority, and Wesgro’s Cruise Cape Town initiative. The port faced competition from other finalists, including the Port of Durban, Port of Mombasa, and others across Africa, solidifying its place as a top cruise destination.
The Port of Cape Town, South Africa, is situated in Table Bay. Because of its position along one of the world’s busiest trade routes it is one of the busiest ports in South Africa, handling the largest amount of fresh fruit and second only to Durban as a container port. The port also has significant repair and maintenance facilities that are used by several large fishing fleets and parts of the West African oil industry. Because of the many tourist attractions offered by Cape Town and its surrounding region, many cruise ships also berth in the port.