MOSSEL BAY NEWS - "The cruise season ended on a high last month, when Serenade of the Seas anchored in Mossel Bay for the first time on 25 May.
The arrival of these spectacular liners in the bay is a joy to behold but, more importantly, an invaluable part of promoting the town’s stellar rise on international tourism maps," says Lieschke Steven-Jennings, chief operations officer of Mossel Bay Tourism.
“In just over 18 months, we have grown from approximately five cruise ships per season to 26 scheduled ships per season.”
“Building key relationships during this time was vital to the success of cruise tourism for our area. Contributing to the allure is the overall growth and products on offer in Mossel Bay. It is no longer a small sail-by coastal town but fast becoming one of the favourite destinations to anchor,” she says.
Role players in the cruise ship business, Busisiwe Mahlaba (Transnet National Ports Authority, Captain Gideon Basson (TNPA), Russel Brueton (Wesgro), Athenkosi Cekiso (TNPA), Monika Iuel (Wesgro), Travis Stedman (Wesgro), Monique Le Fleur (Mossel Bay Tourism), Andrea Bradfield (Mossel Bay Tourism Director) and Sandile Gebashe (TNPA).
Serenade of the Seas is the third Radiance-class ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet and arrived on the last Saturday in May at about 07:00. Of the 930 or so passengers on board, about 230 went on excursions in and around Mossel Bay and the rest spent the day exploring shops, museums, eateries and activities.
Mossel Bay’s 2023/24 Cruise Season was from October 2023 to May 2024. In November, Vasco Da Gama arrived with 420 passengers on board and 156 went on excursions. In the same month, SH Diana brought 65 passengers, with 26 going on excursions. In December, 211 of the 400 passengers on Azamara Pursuit opted for an excursion.
The first cruise liner to visit Mossel Bay in 2024 was Silver Spirit, which arrived on Wednesday, 3 January, with 650 passengers, of whom 423 opted to book an excursion.
“The financial benefits are substantial,” said Mossel Bay Tourism Board chairman Mark Furness when speaking at the official launch of Cruise Season 2023/24.
“The potential direct boost for the Mossel Bay economy is over R3 million per season, and approximately R14.4 million for the Garden Route.”
Mossel Bay acting port manager, Captain Vania Cloete, said that bad weather prevented a handful of cruise ships from mooring during the season.
Mossel Bay's cruise season made a significant contribution to the R1.2 billion revenue from cruise tourism generated by the Western Cape economy, while promoting the Garden Route district as an attractive cruise tourism destination.
The final tally of passengers disembarking in Mossel Bay during the 2023/24 season, including pre-booked Garden Route excursions, totalled 16 337. These tours are booked in advance, which means that all passengers have the option of booking a tour or exploring on their own steam. The 5km walking tourist route remains a firm favourite since it can be done on foot or on rental bikes.
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