If you happen to find yourself momentarily living in the Cape, the influx of tourists that you often find in your personal space is nothing new. Their presence is eventually shrugged off and, soon enough, their visas expire and they leave the country.

But what’s the reason for foreigners arriving here in the first place?

Well, Cape Town has a number of niche tourism attractions that one might forget about. According to BDLive:

Some forms of niche tourism Cape Town excels at include: medical tourism (dental, fertility, plastic surgery and transplants), garden, wildlife and shark tourism, township tourism, military heritage tourism, party weekend tourism, religious tourism, culinary/wine tourism, sports tourism, culture/arts/music tourism and science/technology/archaeology/astronomy tourism.

Astounding, wouldn’t you say? There are very few cities in the world with such a wide range of solid tourist attractions – and while some may come to Cape Town for a specific event, others come for a general experience.

In 2009 wine tourism contributed R4.3 billion to the economy, in 2014 the Cape Town Cycle Tour contributed R450 million, and in the same year the Cape Town Internation Jazz Festival brought in R700 million. That’s a lot of money.

What’s even better is the offshoot of these attractions, directly affecting peripheral businesses such as restaurants, retail, and transport.

While some niche interests, such as medical tourists, are only here to experience, say, a treatment that has better costings, speed, and care than another place, they don’t tend to venture further than from their recovery.

But other tourists, who come specifically for sport or party tourism are in it for the whole package. BDLive continues:

Some forms of niche tourism are a combination; township tourism, by necessity and reinvention, is no longer just a history lesson in a neighbourhood, it incorporates numerous experiences, with many businesses showcasing their artistic, cultural, musical and culinary offerings.

Cape Town has an important role to play in world astronomy, as a leader in the field, particularly as the city is based in the Southern Hemisphere, amateur enthusiasts and academic professionals will travel to the city to enjoy their fascination with the celestial bodies.

We are also a gateway to a fascinating South African heritage of archaeology and paleontology, with the Cradle of Mankind up north, the weird and wonderful fossils of the Karoo and, closer to home, the West Coast fossils. These capture the minds of fossil enthusiasts, enough to get them to travel.

It just shows you how the possibilities of tourism in the Cape opens up so many business ventures – just gotta find that gap in the market.

[source:bdlive]