As South Africa prepares for its peak tourism season, the City of Cape Town’s official Destination Marketing Organization, Cape Town Tourism, reminds travelers to exercise a continued level of vigilance, as they would when visit any other major city in the world.
We look forward to a great holiday season, especially as Cape Town is often cited as one of the best holiday destinations in the world. Accompanied by a high return visitor rate, it’s imperative that we continue to ensure that safety is a key priority and show that the city cares for its visitors,” says Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism (CTT).
Led by CTT, various tourism industry bodies, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), SANPARKS and Consular Generals come together to identify safety trends and discuss solutions to ensure locals and visitors remain safe.
Alderman James Vos, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, says that the City remains committed to ensuring Cape Town as a destination is safe and ready to welcome travelers. “With our tourism industry bodies, including SAPS and the CCID on the ground, we facilitate year-round programmes focusing on the prevention of tourist and visitor safety incidents through community, stakeholder and enforcement engagements, and implement the use of technology to ensure a safer Cape Town.”
“We have already, with the help of the Western Cape provincial government, deployed 1000 extra law enforcement officers focused in the 11 worst crime hotspots in the city.”
Vos says, “We will invest in even more law enforcement officers, and equipment, and vehicles to make every Capetonian feel safer. And we will focus single-mindedly on growing the economy so that more people can get into work and out of poverty, while working around-the-clock to attract more visitors with clever campaigns and travel connections,”.
Brett Hendricks, Chairperson of Cape Town Tourism, highlights the importance of local and international visitors feeling confident when visiting Cape Town. “We believe that tools and protocols should be in place in order to give our visitors that reassurance that they can visit attractions and experiences knowing their safety is our top precedence. Since the pandemic, we as a tourism industry have had to work hard to rebuild the sector and one of those key priorities include making sure that we keep our visitors, communities, friends, and family safe.”