Statement By The City’s Mayoral Committee Member For Economic Opportunities And Asset Management,Alderman James Vos
It’s been a busy two weeks celebrating Tourism Month. From school visits, to the ‘Curated Routes Tour’ in Khayelitsha, to a trip up Table Mountain. Our iconic mountain has been nominated for an award in the category of the ‘Leading Attraction in Africa.’
Tourism Month is a time to focus on one of the most critical sectors in terms of its economic investment and job creation opportunities. This sector generates one job for every 12 international visitors and remains a key priority sector for the City of Cape Town.
We kicked off Tourism Month with a bang and our activities started with a visit to Sea View Primary School in Mitchell’s Plain. We also visited schools in Langa and Khayelitsha.
We are focusing on schools to educate learners on the importance of the tourism industry. In addition, we took the opportunity to inform learners of the numerous career opportunities available to them should they decide to choose tourism as a livelihood.
Anda Ntsodo Portfolio Chairperson, Elton Jansen Subcouncil Chairperson, as well as Ward and PR Councillors accompanied me to Seaview Primary on Friday.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of accompanying several representatives from leading hotels in Cape Town on a ‘Curated Routes Tour.’ I made use of the opportunity to highlight and showcase an array of cultural experiences in Khayelitsha. The visit gave the representatives an opportunity to interact with inspirational people, including artists, baristas and start-up business owners, while creating the opportunity for ‘tourism-prenuers’ to display a range of diverse activities.
The tour reflects the core focus of the recently revised Tourism Development Framework (TDF), which is to create more community-based offerings. The City is taking an immersive approach to cultural tourism and aims to change the local landscape by embracing diversification of tourism experiences.
This will give momentum to the City’s objective to facilitate sustainable job creation to help establish more ‘tourism-preneurs’ while transforming the tourism landscape in Cape Town.
On Friday, I also had the opportunity to accompany the Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, on a trip up Table Mountain. We were joined by members of the media to celebrate that Table Mountain was recently nominated for the ‘Leading Attraction in Africa’ award category.
Source: City Of Cape Town