Cape Town Tourism and the City of Cape Town officially signed a three-year agreement whereby the voluntary membership organisation will deliver Visitor Services, Tourism Marketing and Special Tourism Projects on behalf of the City for the benefit of the local tourism industry.
As a voluntary non-profit organisation with a membership base of almost 1500 businesses that boasts the city’s top attractions, corporate venues, accommodation providers, tour operators, restaurants, airlines, wine farms and shopping centres including small and medium enterprises, it places Cape Town Tourism in a unique position to represent the broader industry, and fulfil its obligations as required by the City.
“This 3-year agreement affords Cape Town Tourism a period of continuity to focus on and execute areas of the revised Tourism Development Framework (TDF). The strategy sets out five new focus areas that include ensuring visitor comfort, improving and diversifying products and experiences, stimulating demand, generating community involvement and benefit, and organising for growth.
My immediate priority is to oversee the implementation of the TDF with our partner Cape Town Tourism and the tourism industry, to facilitate sustainable job creation in a depressed economic climate. This will help to establish ‘tourism-preneurs’ while transforming the tourism landscape in Cape Town into a thriving tourism business ecosystem that drives demand.
It was my pleasure to have been part of the process to get council approval for this agreement.”, said the City’s Mayoral Committee member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, including Tourism, Alderman James Vos.
“The Cape Town Tourism Board is extremely pleased to have secured a 3-year contract with the City of Cape Town. This is testament to the faith that the City has in Cape Town Tourism’s ability to effectively deliver on the City’s mandate to promote Tourism. We look forward to working with all role players in this sector to build on Cape Town’s excellent reputation and address the challenges facing this important sector”, says Julie-May Ellingson, Chairperson of the Cape Town Tourism Board.
In recent months, Cape Town Tourism has embarked on a number of major initiatives, geared to bring even more visitors to the city. The launch of the most recent curated tourist routes in Khayelitsha is one example of this. “The new three-year deal will allow Cape Town Tourism to rollout projects such as the Neighbourhood Route projects in more localities over and above Khayelitsha. The development of these curated routes has benefited my business tremendously. As a member of Cape Town Tourism, I am excited for the opportunity they have been given to continue their planning to market more aggressively for the ultimate benefit of us, their members.” says Abigail Mbalo, owner of 4Roomed eKasi Culture Restaurant in Khayelitsha.
Cape Town Tourism is acknowledged by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation as a leading example of how city tourism should be managed as a collaborative effort between private sector members and government. By appointing Cape Town Tourism as the City’s tourism service provider, we ensure that that tourism is government led and private sector driven.
CEO of Cape Town Tourism Enver Duminy said, “We at Cape Town Tourism are thrilled that the new tranche of funding from the City will allow us to not only deliver on our Marketing efforts, but also ensure we provide business enabling services to our members, supporting them to become competitive, sustainable and transformed. This agreement allows us to plan well beyond a few months at a time and to build momentum on the great initiatives we have launched in recent months, from our Winter in Cape Town Campaign with Mango Airlines, our Muslim-friendly destination readiness program with Crescent Rating all the way to our Destination Marketing Partnership Agreement with New York and Company.”