The last few months have seen Cape Town receive some notable accolades; including being voted the Number One City in Africa and the Middle East for 2018 by Travel and Leisure’s readers, as well as Forbes ranking Kalk Bay as the coolest suburb in the world.
As our CEO, Enver Duminy so eloquently stated: “We remain an unparalleled destination on the continent, and one whose multiple initiatives in saving water has ensured that we can continue to attract visitors. We are honoured that so many travellers remain confident in our ability to offer fantastic attractions and experiences.”
I would therefore like to thank you, our partners in tourism, for the hard work and effort that you have put in to make this city such an attractive destination.
We continue working hard to grow tourism in neighbourhoods across Cape Town. Our Chairman, Enver Mally, held an eKasi session in July in Langa, to connect big tour operators and tourism SMEs from Khayelitsha, Langa and Mitchells Plain. The event allowed each participant to maximise the chances of introducing themselves through a “speed dating” experience.
The goal of the eKasi sessions is to break down the barriers in the tourism industry and create more opportunities for small businesses to access the tourism value chain. We have ongoing engagement with tour operators to encourage them to include local products and guides in their itineraries and to ensure that the benefits experienced are both participatory and inclusive.
Visitor safety is top of mind for all our stakeholders as was seen at the recent JAMMS session. It remains our number one priority, and we are committed to ensuring that visitors have a positive experience. We strongly encourage members to communicate and raise awareness of visitor safety issues to visitors once they are in the destination. We also encourage operators to report visitor safety incidents to both CTT as well as to the relevant SAPS, which will allow us to monitor trends and refine our approach.
Only by working together and supporting each other will we be able to give our visitors a safe and memorable experience.