Cape Town will launch a new self-drive domestic campaign this week to showcase Cape Town experiences that offer an “international travel experience”.
Cape Town Tourism will also launch launch Pocket-friendly Cape Town, offering travellers budget-friendly options.
“Cape Town is a world-class destination. We predict that, instead of going overseas for a top travel experience when borders open, South Africans will look closer to home and see that Cape Town has as much to offer as other cities around the world, if not more. We believe that we will always remain a world-class city on many people's bucket lists and that, as soon as they can, international travellers will start to visit us once again. We now just have to ensure that visitors feel confident in our Covid-19 protocols and safe when they visit," said Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.
He said Pocket-friendly Cape Town is a series of videos where multinational and multicultural teams will explore Cape Town’s authentic neighbourhoods on a budget of R100.
"The focus will be on the great value, enjoyment, discovery, and the unique experiences that Cape Town has to offer," he said.
New normal of travel
Duminy together with Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Tourism for the City of Cape Town recently hosted a webinar to detail how tourism in and around Cape Town will need to be re-imagined now that inter-provincial tourism is allowed.
Cape Town Tourism has conducted several surveys to ascertain how businesses and consumers are doing Covid-19. The Covid-19 Impact Report highlighted how up to 90 000 jobs were at risk of being lost, while the Consumer Impact Report showed that, if life continued under harsh restrictions, consumers would have little to no money to travel at all, let alone internationally.
“We have not been sitting still this lockdown. We, along with the City of Cape Town, have been doing our utmost to ensure that we are ready to welcome visitors back again. We have been educating our members and other stakeholders on best practice when it comes to Covid-19 compliance, we have been lobbying for the government to safely open the industry again, we have continued to promote Cape Town in various ways to keep the destination top of mind, and we have started rolling out our bounce back plan that will ensure that we get going again in a responsive and responsible manner," said Duminy.
Vos said their role is to ensure Cape Town remains a popular tourist destination and is ready to adapt to unprecedented times.
"The city is creating new opportunities across the board and are looking to expand tourism opportunities to all corners of Cape Town. This means getting communities ready for tourism, ensuring that locals love living here, looking for investment opportunities, working to create a safe city and ensuring that fun and adventure can be had across the Mother City.
“We are are confident that we will be able to come back stronger and safer for anyone wanting to make Cape Town part of their lives. Everything has and will continue to change from here on out. This is a road untraveled and we need to figure out what a destination in a Covid-19 world looks like from all angles - as a tourist, as investors, and as residents," said Vos.
Cape Town may be a popular destination, but it does face some stiff competition with other destinations in South Africa,
Duminy said everyone was “fighting for a piece of the tourism pie”.