It was recently ranked one of the top places to see before you die, but Cape Town now risks acquiring a new label as the capital of rip-off.
Restaurants were accused on Friday of inflating prices by more than 1 000% in a frenzy of greed damaging South Africa’s tourism industry.
Tour operators, hoteliers and restaurateurs in Western Cape, where the scenery and winelands draw millions of visitors, are said to be colluding in ”astronomical” profiteering.
An investigation by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which fears big job losses if tourists stay away, found some restaurants charging about R700 for a starter portion of perlemoen, a local shellfish, and more than R800 for crayfish, when the cost price was less than R26.
”These are the exceptions, but their greed could shut down the whole industry,” said Tony Ehrenreich, a Cosatu official. Operators would be named and shamed when a report of the investigation was published next month, he said.
Restaurants on the waterfront were found to be the biggest offenders, with price increases in excess of 1 000% over the past couple of years, But hotels were also profiteering by charging up to 40% more than last year — outstripping some luxury New York hotels.
”Every day of the week there is a letter in the local press from a tourist complaining about being overcharged,” said Ehrenreich. He said this perception of poor value for money had contributed to a tumble in tourist numbers this summer.
Stung by Cape Town prices, South Africans have long joked that avarice can be the plat du jour. But foreign visitors barely noticed while the rand was weak. The currency’s rally last year appears to have changed that.
Albert Schuitmaker, of the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the newspaper Business Day: ”Tourists come to South Africa for the African experience and African prices,” he said. ”That’s what makes us attractive.”
Sheryl Ozinsky, the manager of Cape Town Tourism, said: ”My view is that a few individuals in certain cases are charging exorbitant prices, but that market forces will force them out of business or to lower their prices.” — Guardian Unlimited Â