Cape Town - A Danish-owned restaurant chain employing 500 people considered withdrawing from South Africa at the beginning of this year when tourism was affected by happenings in Zimbabwe and the floods, Mike Hohnen, the managing director, said yesterday.
But now all four of the Kristensen Oceanfront restaurants - Quay 4 and Morton's in Cape Town's Waterfront, La Med in Camp's Bay and the Black Marlin in Simon's Town - were doing so well Hohnen expected to achieve turnover of R50 million. "We would like to buy another restaurant but cannot find suitable premises on the sea front," he said.
Hohnen was among members of the Cape Town branch of Skal International - an association of tourism professionals - who said they expected a bumper season despite disappointing statistics earlier this year.
Diana Campbell, the president of the branch and owner of a guest house, said she was "positive" about the coming season.
Richard Bray, the general manager of the Cape Sun Intercontinental Hotel, said advance bookings would give a 70 percent occupancy rate in January and February.
Meanwhile South African Tourism (Satour) launched the second phase of its international marketing campaign at the World Travel Market in London yesterday. It said it would spend R100 million on advertising and promotions in key markets, including the UK, in this financial year, and a further R300 million in the following fiscal year.
"The UK is already the largest market for international visitors to South Africa but we have attracted only a fraction of the existing potential," said Owen Leed, Satour's new chief marketing officer.
"By aggressively targeting the untapped market, particularly the younger adventurous travellers, we aim to raise awareness of South Africa and make it one of the top long-haul tourism destinations in the world."