Tourists flock to Noordhoek thanks to its village feel – and spend R90 million annually.
Western Cape, South Africa (03 March 2022) – A recent tourism survey found that tourists visit Noordhoek mainly for its village atmosphere and generate more than R90 million annually. It also found that the sector employs more than 300 previously under-resourced people from our neighbouring communities.
The circular economy is one of the key aspects of the ‘Noordhoek Vision’, a shared document made up of six goals put together by residents in 2016 to shape our community’s future. The Circular Economy Goal aims to build Noordhoek into a self-sustaining community in a self-sustaining valley, where locals support local businesses and employ local people. As the tourism survey has confirmed, tourism is a key aspect of the local economy and a critical income generator for all sorts of businesses in the valley.
Tourists love staying overnight, thanks to Noordhoek’s rural feel. The survey found that accommodation makes up almost half of the local tourism sector by number and is an anchor and launchpad into the area’s different activities.
Restaurants and retail are the second most popular reason for people visiting and spending their money here.
Brad Bing, Chairperson of the Noordhoek Ratepayers Association (NRPA), says, “The rural, open and natural atmosphere is critical to people wanting to stay over and spend money in the valley. It speaks to the village’s sense of place. As locals, we should encourage this and ensure we do everything possible to keep it. We can do so by encouraging entertainment in the village that complements the natural, open village feel, and by supporting activities that leverage this sense of place,” he says.
The food and beverage sector is the most significant employer in the valley, with respondents collectively employing 307 staff year-round, increasing to 342 in season. 91% of staff members are from under-resourced communities.
Bing says, “The survey found that the food beverage and retail sector is by far the largest contributor to local investment and employment. It is an extremely valuable direct employer and investor back into the under-resourced communities of our area,” he says.
“This survey is critical as it helps us understand and grow the socio-economic drivers in the valley and gives us a good estimation of the value of Noordhoek’s tourism industry. In 2019 the NRPA conducted an equestrian economy audit highlighting the value of rural zoning and small holding-sized erven. The tourism survey complements these findings, as it exactly these aspects that create the rural space and village atmosphere which drives the tourism sector,” he says.
“This survey allows us to attach social and economic value to our spatial assets, and we can use this as leverage when engaging with the City of Cape Town on densification, sub-division and developmental matters. We hope that this will influence development in a way that respects Noordhoek’s sense of place because we can see the full value of it,” he says.
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