Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa, scores 57 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #184 of 309 destinations. 26 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 83% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 57
• OECD: 56
• UN Tourism: 39
• UNDRR: 57

Strongest

• Domestic share of nights: 57 % of nights by residents of the same country (City of Cape Town - Economic Performance Indicators for Cape Town (EPIC), Q2 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Largest foreign market: 14.7 % of international arrivals or nights (Cape Town Tourism - Economic Value of Tourism Report, 2025). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Average length of stay: 7 nights per visitor (Cape Town Tourism, Destination Intelligence / Economic Value of Tourism Report, 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Wastewater safely treated: 21.6 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: SDG Indicators Database by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), 2024). Below 50: grade 0/4.
• Green space: 7 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (City of Cape Town Recreation and Parks Department, Tree Mapping Project, 2020). Below 10: grade 0/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 730 kg per resident per year (City of Cape Town, Global Change - Green Audit Toolkit, 2019). Above 700: grade 0/4.

South Africa in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

South Africa is #61 of 110 countries (3.99 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 58 on the CIRA Index; Cape Town is 1 below that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 75

• Nights in the three busiest months: 29 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 57 % of nights by residents of the same country (City of Cape Town - Economic Performance Indicators for Cape Town (EPIC), Q2 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 14.7 % of international arrivals or nights (Cape Town Tourism - Economic Value of Tourism Report, 2025). At or below 15: grade 4/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 72.9 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (metro figure) (Western Cape Government, Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) 2023/24, 2022). Below 80: grade 0/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 7 nights per visitor (Cape Town Tourism, Destination Intelligence / Economic Value of Tourism Report, 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 61.7 % average annual occupancy (Cape Town Tourism, Economic Value of Tourism 2025 Report, 2025). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 13

• Jobs in tourism industries: not measured yet
• Unemployment rate: 23.4 % of the labour force (metro figure) (City of Cape Town (Invest Cape Town / Statistics South Africa), Economic Performance Indicators for Cape Town (EPIC) 2024: Q2, 2024 Q2). Above 18: grade 0/4. Source
• Income per head: 15,906 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 15,000 and 30,000: grade 1/4. Source
• Economic diversity: not measured yet

Climate and hazards: 60

• Extreme heat days: 1.4 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 2 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4. Source
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 5.2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 5 and 6.5: grade 1/4. Source

Water and environment: 13

• Water scarcity: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 21.6 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: SDG Indicators Database by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), 2024). Below 50: grade 0/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 730 kg per resident per year (City of Cape Town, Global Change - Green Audit Toolkit, 2019). Above 700: grade 0/4. Source
• Green space: 7 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (City of Cape Town Recreation and Parks Department, Tree Mapping Project, 2020). Below 10: grade 0/4. Source

Community and housing: 67

• Tourism intensity: 2.9 visitor nights per resident per year (metro figure) (Cape Town Tourism, 2025 Economic Value of Tourism Report & Statistics South Africa, Census 2022, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 9.7 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (PayProp / Rode Media, PayProp Rental Index, Q2 2026). Between 6 and 10: grade 2/4. Source
• Short-let density: 1.1 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA Cape Town Market Report & Statistics South Africa Census 2022, 2026). Between 1 and 2: grade 2/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: not measured yet

Access and continuity: 71

• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (City of Cape Town / PRASA / Transnet Port Authority, 2024–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre, 2025–2026). Grade 3/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (Western Cape Government / African Centre for Cities / CPUT, 2021–2024). Grade 4/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 45.8 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Between 40 and 60: grade 2/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 2 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 1 and 2: grade 3/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source such as a tourist tax or levy (Tourism Marketing South Africa (TOMSA) / Cape Town Tourism, 2024–2026). Grade 2/4. Source

Compare Cape Town

• Cape Town vs Johannesburg
• Cape Town vs Pretoria
• Cape Town vs Ekurhuleni
• Cape Town vs Durban
• Abidjan vs Cape Town
• Accra vs Cape Town
• Cape Town vs Windhoek
• Cape Town vs Yaoundé
• Cairo vs Cape Town
• Cape Town vs Kigali

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