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Table Mountain vote 'worth R1bn a year'

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20 April 2011

South Africa could benefit by an estimated US$200-million (1.4-billion) a year, equivalent to over $1-billion for the first five years, if Table Mountain is chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, according to consultancy Grant Thornton – and that's counting direct economic impact only.

A report conducted by Grant Thornton and released on Friday found that tourism to Cape Town would increase by about 20 percent, mostly from international tourists, if Table Mountain were to get the global vote in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

Table Mountain is one of 28 finalists in the competition, in which the world's top natural sites are being whittled down to seven winners in an exercise in global democracy that is expected to draw over a billion participants.

The final two-year round of voting to choose the New 7 Wonders of Nature runs through to the final official declaration of the seven winners on 11.11.2011.

The increase in tourists that would flow from being one of the seven would, according to Grant Thornton, "generate an additional R1.4-billion in revenue for the year or about R116-million a month, and the expenditure would support around 11 000 employment opportunities in South Africa."

Grant Thornton's projections are based on a previous campaign, to choose the New 7 (man-made) Wonders of the World, culminating in 2007 with over 100-million votes cast.

Grant Thornton found that "measurable" results were seen at sites which made the top seven shortlisted in that campaign. "Visitors to Petra in Jordan increased by 61 percent, and visitors to Christ the Redeemer in Brazil increased by 30 percent."

The man-made New 7 Wonders of the World have "become part of school curriculums all over the world, and if the same happens to the New 7 Wonders of Nature, children from every corner of the globe will be learning about Table Mountain and South Africa as a destination," the report found.

Jean-Paul de la Fuente, director of New7Wonders, said that Grant Thornton's findings confirmed the conclusions of an academic study released last year by London-based publisher Pearson (publisher of the Financial Times newspaper) in which the worldwide economic contribution made by the campaign to elect the man-made New 7 Wonders was valued at more than $5-billion.

De la Fuente also pointed out that the Grant Thornton report referred to purely economic value only. "If you add the marketing, advertising, image and branding value, you would easily double the numbers, which means that the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign is likely to generate well over $10-billion in economic and marketing value globally."

Voting for Table Mountain, by internet or SMS, is easy – to find out more, visit www.votefortablemountain.com

SAinfo reporter



	Table Mountain forms part of Table Mountain National Park, one of few conservation areas in the world that is entirely surrounded by a city (Image: New 7 Wonders)