Within a short space of time, Cape Town’s tourism safety ambassadors have notched up some notable successes. On Monday, February 4, the City of Cape Town acknowledged their work and commended them for the crucial role they play in bringing perpetrators to book.
Appointed by Cape Town Tourism, the tourism safety ambassadors serve as extra pairs of eyes and ears on the ground in the central business district (CBD) and the Bo-Kaap tourism hotspots, guiding visitors around the city, offering advice, sharing safety tips and on the lookout for any suspicious behaviour.
“I am very pleased to see our youth playing an active part in making our society a better place. This is another great example of tourism and job creation coming together,” commented Dan Plato, Executive Mayor of Cape Town.
The ambassadors work closely with their partners in crime prevention, such as the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood watch, the Central City Improvement District (CCID), and the South African Police Service (SAPS). They are provided with intelligence by SAPS on the hotspots, criminal trends and other safety issues. SAPS also provides vehicle support and back-up when needed. The Bo-Kaap neighbourhood watch keeps an eye on the area via the CCTV camera network and informs the ambassadors about potential safety risks, whilst the ambassadors keep in touch via a WhatsApp group.
Some of the tourism safety ambassador success stories:
- They were instrumental in the bust and arrest of 10 ATM credit card scammers who were mainly targeting tourists.
- They prevented several attempted muggings of tourists.
- They prevented a tourist from being scammed at an ATM in a well-known hotspot.
- Assisted lost tourists by walking with them to the attractions they were looking for and accompanying them back to Cape Town Tourism’s offices.
- Assisted SAPS by identifying and calling in suspicious cars in the area.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos, met with the tourism safety ambassadors to present them with a certificate of commendation for the work they are doing and to acknowledge their successes to date.
This was followed by a walkabout with the Mayor, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy, and Vos to experience first-hand what the ambassador’s encounter on a daily basis.
“They (ambassadors) are disrupting the tourism hotspots where criminals were becoming a nuisance by preying on unsuspecting locals and visitors to the city,” said Vos.
“Concern around visitor safety continues to be one of our biggest barriers in growing tourism numbers to Cape Town. The increase in reported tourism safety incidents has spurred us to take action. This safety ambassador initiative is a welcome addition to our other tourism safety schemes, like the four-step industry safety plan and our special band-aid programme. We would like to call on government, corporates, small business and communities to expand this tourism safety ambassador programme across Cape Town but also to ensure we can financially sustain it all year round,” said Duminy.
