A partnership of tourism focused organisations, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government has launched a microsite to assist the tourism trade to answer important questions that prospective visitors may have on the drought in Cape Town and the Western Cape, and to provide the trade with up-to-date information relevant to their businesses.
Its key objective is to get a single, unified message out that the Cape is open for business. The tourism bodies involved are Wesgro, Cape Town Tourism, South African Tourism, SAACI, Satsa, and Fedhasa.
In a statement, Wesgro said: “The launch of the microsite followed negative international media coverage of the drought, which caused concerns for potential tourists. It is therefore critical that accurate information is disseminated, and that international tourists understand the importance of their travel plans to the economy of the province.”
Tourism supports over 300 000 jobs in the Western Cape, if indirect and induced jobs are included. It also contributes nearly R40 billion (€2.79bn) to the provincial economy. “Because international tourists only add 1% to the population of the Cape on average at any given point (during peak season), tourists can rest assured that they will only provide a positive benefit to the province during this time, provided they save like a local.”
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris said: “Our water communications centre has been working hard to provide concise information to the tourism trade and potential visitors to the Cape, so that the impact of the drought on this important sector is as limited as possible. This microsite places all this information in an easily accessible format for the industry to use. We are also engaging with international media so that their coverage on the drought is balanced and fair, and does not cause unnecessary fear about visiting the province during this time. Wesgro is determined to keep this sector going, and growing so that it continues to support economic growth and job creation.”
In addition to this microsite, the organisations will also be launching a digital marketing campaign reaching potential visitors in key source markets who have shown interest in travelling to Cape Town and the Western Cape.
