Despite much complaining about the state of the harbour and the arrivals hall for cruise ships at the Cape Town docks it doesn’t seem to prevent world class cruise ships from visiting Cape Town. This morning as I was driving into town I was greeted by the site of the Queen Mary 2 docked in the harbour and I was forced to ask myself; what does this mean for Cape Town as a tourist destination and what does it mean for Cape Town holiday accommodation. Not really I actually asked myself “How the hell do you park something like that,” then I asked my girlfriend how the hell they would park it, she rolled her eyes and muttered “tug boats retard.” It was early in the morning I was concentrating on far more important issues, such as how I was going to persuade my colleagues that I have not been leaving dirty coffee mugs in the sink.
My scheming was interrupted though by her diatribe on the state of Cape Town holiday accommodation and the embarrassing spectacle that is the arrivals “hall” at the Cape Town docks. I expressed much the same sentiment that I did at the start of this article. If it is so dire why do cruise ships keep coming and why do tourists keep flooding the city. I thought it was quite simple really Cape Town is so beautiful and the people are so unique we could shove the visitors into sleeping bags and tents and they would be happy just to be basking in our Mother City glory.
The gf felt differently however and as this is actually her blog I won’t describe the tone or look on her face when she told me as such but I can tell you that it reminded me of the face the cat makes right before it scratches your face and steals your tuna sandwich; the knowing look of inevitable victory. I was forced to concede that she made a valid point, I conceded I part because she did make a good point and in part because I knew from the look and past experience that resistance or arguing was futile. She pointed out, or rather shouted out that unless Cape Town and South Africa wanted to be a developing hole in the great African wall forever then they best start creating a better perception of themselves, and the best way to do this is to provide world class facilities to tourists.
It must be said that the state of the “arrival hall” at the Waterfront docks is less than the ideal first impression for anyone visiting. As a place for welcoming the passengers of a world class luxury liner however it is downright abysmal. The class of person that can afford a cruise on many of these ocean liners can generally afford to spend much of their time on holiday and send a fair amount of money while doing so. It makes sense therefore to upgrade not only the arrival area but also the entire foreshore area. As charming as it may be to us locals to have a working harbour on the edge of our CBD you can bet your hacky sack that most visitors will not be overly charmed by the smell of fish and the oil soaked concrete underfoot when they disembark from their five star cruise liner.
The real frustration with very poor conditions that await disembarking passengers at the V&A Docks is that the rest of the city and Cape Town holiday accommodation is generally in world class condition. Despite the fact that the 2010 World Cup is one of the Mother City resident’s favourite thing to complain about, the improvements made to the tourism infrastructure have benefitted the tourism industry and Cape Town immeasurably. It is frustrating then to know that there is a scene from Tank Girl welcoming some of the most lucrative tourists to visit our shores. It is time the local government looked at a serious proposal to turn the foreshore into a hub of entertainment and a fitting gateway to the greatest city in Cape Town.
