Tourism Safety: Collaborate to tell the world that Cape Town is a safe destination

The Joint Association Member Meetings (JAMMS) took place on October 2 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The topic that was discussed at the event was ‘tate of Tourism: The impact of crime and visitor safety – Where to from here?’.

Tim Harris, Wesgro CEO, addressed those in attendance, which included Cape Town Tourism, Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) Cape, South African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) Western Cape and Skål International Western Cape, highlighting how stakeholders in the industry banded together to produce the ‘Nowhere Better’ Campaign.

“The success of the campaign lies not just in how it addressed the water crisis, but in how the industry came together at a time of crisis and pooled all resources in order to get through a very difficult situation,” explains Fedhasa Cape Chairperson, Jeff Rosenberg.

This unified front is now being adapted to highlight a new message for the city, that of how Cape Town is a safe destination but has crime like any other major tourism city.

To ensure that Cape Town is a safe destination, Alderman James Vos, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management; Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member: Safety and Security; and Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director General at the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, discussed measures being put in place by the City of Cape Town and provincial government to tackle crime.

These include allocating more resources to law enforcement, the deployment of tourism safety ambassadors, the development of strategies and development frameworks, and establishing key partnerships between stakeholders.

The City is also investing and expanding its CCTV and computerised dispatch systems – the first city in South Africa to do so.

Much as in the water crisis, the campaign requires the participation of all industry role-players. This will be done through forums, such as the Tourism Safety Forum – a formally structured, multi-stakeholder and collaborative forum established to make Cape Town one of the safest destinations in the world – of which Fedhasa Cape is a member.

“We all need to get involved and become the solution. Let’s talk about the positive moments and good news stories to keep our destination as beautiful and safe as possible,” Rosenberg said.

Source: tourismupdate.co.za