The number of cruise ships docking in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro are on the rise.
The Metro said the industry has already contributed an estimated R98.2 million, to the economy, since the start of the 2025/26 cruise season in September last year.
The season is set to conclude in June 2026.
About 34 dockings, were recorded in the 2022/23 season, raking in some 45,000 passengers at R74.5 million.
The following year, there were 37 dockings, with 50,000 passengers, contributing R81.5 million.
There were 41 dockings, in the 2024/25 season, with 53,000 passengers, contributing R96.4 million.
About 41 dockings recorded in the current year, with 79,421 passengers, brought an estimated R129.6 million.
Babalwa Lobishe, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor, said “although the growth we have seen is not surprising, it shows that our strategic efforts are consistently yielding positive momentum, which we find very encouraging. Given the challenges of slow economic growth and unemployment, this is one of the areas we will continue to leverage going forward. We will also continue to improve our tourism offerings,”
Picture: Supplied