Tourism and hospitality professionals from across the Western Cape were recently hosted at Cape Town Tourism’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), at which a strategy for industry recovery was shared by Enver Duminy and other leaders. Here is a summary of the plans Cape Town Tourism is putting in place to safeguard the region’s future success as a world-class destination.
The past year and the year before that have been undeniably tough for all of us in the tourism industry. The global travel industry and every industry related to it has been confined to a tunnel of despair, a dark space that has seen the loss of visitors, tourism revenue, livelihoods and, of course, lives. The good news is that there is light up ahead of this tunnel as we drive processes that will see our recovery and restoration as an industry.
It has been necessary for us to implement a Containment, Adjustment and Recovery approach throughout this crisis, with interventions geared towards minimising the impact on our visitors and tourists as well as in ensuring our own day-to-day survival.
The intensity of our experience throughout this period has been personal, emotional and at times devastating, however, ongoing collaboration and engagement have helped to alleviate the pain somewhat. Indeed, the energy and time devoted to survival has helped to cement our single-minded drive to see industry recovery taking place.
Recovery: an Industry Imperative
Bearing in mind that we remain in a state of flux in an ever-changing world, we must acknowledge that Cape Town Tourism and the City of Cape Town are united in purpose: Recovery Now.
That means recovery in all its facets: recovery must be inclusive and cohesive. Recovery must be aimed at the resuscitation of international tourism. Recovery must optimise a safe and seamless visitor experience. Recovery must prioritise the support of everyone who works in tourism locally and recovery must happen now.
We’ve put together a structured approach aimed at inspiring, kick-starting and sustaining this recovery, an approach based on what we call the Big Bangs.
These Big Bangs are an intentional, purpose-driven effort to reinforce our world-class status when it comes to destination marketing and destination management.
The first Big Bang comes in facilitating seamless and safe visitor experiences through digital and physical platforms, for example, the new Visitor Experience Centre at City Hall, where Nelson Mandela addressed the world for the first time after attaining his freedom, where he spoke of his hopes and dreams for a free city, free country and a free world for all.
In terms of these platforms, ee are one of the first cities in the world to pilot an initiative that leverages artificial intelligence in our tourism through our TravelWise Concierge, or AvatarX, to work in harmony with our award-winning website to drive opportunities and revenue. That’s the heart of the Digital Visitor Xperience Big Bang (Digital VX).
Our Brand X Big Bang is something we all own: sustaining a world class destination that is built to outlast crime, safety issues, water shortages and pandemics.
With this in mind, we use Destination Intelligence tools to analyse post-COVID traveller preferences and determine how to meet these and to maximise global marketing opportunities. Resilience is our goal.
Youth X is a city-wide call to ensure that a generation of young people from all backgrounds are inspired by and included in the love of tourism. It is a Big Bang that has destination sustainability in mind when it comes to employment opportunities, skills development and local neighbourhood tourism inclusivity.
Internally, we have our Big Bangs that drive a productive and enthusiastic organisation at Cape Town Tourism as well as a beneficial environment for our membership that acknowledges the rebuilding process currently taking place.
Find Your Freedom
The final objective we’ve set out is contained in the Big Bang we call Global X. This is structured around the framework of freedom. The basic needs we have to choose our freedom, secure our freedom and enjoy our freedom, brought together in a global campaign we’ve called Find Your Freedom.
In partnership with key source markets and international airlines, we are building awareness and driving conversion; ultimately, inspiring a generation of explorers, adventurers and travellers to come to Cape Town.
There’s no better place to experience the liberation from that comes with travel, freedom from contained lives, from a feeling of purposelessness.
Cape Town is the original antidote to the lockdown blues.
This city is emblematic of freedom to the global traveller, an authentic symbol of freedom that offers a transformative experience to all travellers, visitors and tourists.
Freedom is a Time – a time that is limited, a time to be valued and appreciated daily;
Freedom is a Feeling, inspiring awe, gratitude and a spirit of adventure that moves us;
Freedom is a Strength, a strength represented in our growth and resilience as a city. Freedom is a Decision, the opportunity to choose and make the most out of what we have.
We’d like to challenge you to play your part in this journey, to help create a positive, inclusive and exciting environment to share with others as you find your freedom.