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With foreign film investment in Cape Town set to surpass R5 billion by October, the city’s hospitality sector—especially in the CBD—is thriving.
Cape Town’s global appeal as a film destination is driving a major economic upswing in the city’s hospitality industry. Picture: Maria Korneeva/Getty Images
Cape Town’s global appeal as a film destination is driving a significant economic upswing in the city’s hospitality industry.
However, in May, US President Donald Trump proposed imposing a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced content.
If enacted, this tariff could affect locally made films, including productions filmed in Cape Town, and series sold to the US market.
“It may have an impact on films looking to be produced solely in Cape Town, but as an example, many scenes in the new Mission Impossible movie were shot in parts of Cape Town and the Western Cape,” Grant Elliot, chief operating officer at Thibault Investments and deputy chairperson of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), told The Citizen.
“The movie was still made and produced out of the United States, and this is the case with many productions from around the world that use our beautiful city and landscape in their productions,” he said.
According to the City’s Film Permits Office, from 1 November 2023 to 30 June 2024, film crews booked more than 59 000 beds in Cape Town, spending nearly R148 million.
These productions are driving consistent demand for accommodation, food services, transport and office space, creating real economic value for local businesses.
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What makes Cape Town special?
With foreign investment in Cape Town’s film production industry estimated to break through the R5-billion barrier by October this year, the city’s hospitality industry, especially in the CBD, is reaping huge rewards.
South Africa’s central business districts (CBDs) are often associated with unsafe, polluted, and derelict buildings. Elliot says what has made Cape Town’s CBD standout is the partnership between the government and the CCID.
“The Cape Town CBD is a well-managed CBD with several partners working together to ensure it is safe, clean, and a welcoming environment to visit, do business, work and stay,” he says.
The CCID is a not-for-profit private-public company established 25 years ago to create a workable inner city.
It focuses on public safety, cleanliness, and social development, maintaining a continuous 24/7 presence in the central city and providing services that complement those of the city and South African Police Service (Saps).
According to the City of Cape Town’s Film Permits Office, a total of 550 production shoots took place in the Cape Town CBD from 1 January to 26 May 2025.
These included commercials, documentaries, feature films, micro-shoots, music videos, student projects, TV films and productions, and TV series.
Of these, 219 were ‘large and very large’ commercial shoots, 106 were micro shoots, 22 were TV series, and 14 were feature films.
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Tourism
There’s a lucrative tourism factor when people shoot films across South Africa. The impact of cinema on tourism is enormous.
The fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings significantly contributed to New Zealand’s GDP through tourism.
The series, which was filmed entirely in Australia, boosted tourism by approximately 50%, generating an estimated NZ$33 million (approximately R600 million) in annual revenue.
By 2018, New Zealand welcomed approximately 3.6 million visitors annually, and tourism had become the nation’s largest export industry.
Speaking to The Citizen in May, actor Brandon Auret stated that South Africa has more to offer tourists than its three largest metropolitan areas: Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
“My whole big thing is not just about making films, not just about investing in the communities that are in those cities, but opening up the tourism. Getting people to go, ‘wow, that movie was shot where?’,” says Auret.
Elliot couldn’t comment on whether there has been a similar demand from local productions to shoot in.
Auret has called on Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie to use Trump’s 100% tariffs on films made outside the US as an opportunity to invest in the local film industry.
“I’m a firm believer in that when the door is closed, jump through the window,” he said.
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