The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, with the Directorate’s Portfolio Committee and Cape Town Tourism, went on a City Sightseeing La Gu Gu Township Tour through Cape Town’s oldest township, Langa, and neighbouring Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.
The tour is guided by a local resident and includes an African traditional beer tasting, and visits to the Dompass Museum and home of music legend Brenda Fassie.
‘This was an opportunity to see the variety of community tourism experiences in Cape Town and see how we can continue to integrate them into our greater city destination offering,’ said Alderman Vos.
Enver Duminy, Cape Town Tourism’s CEO said, ‘Cape Town is rich with a variety of experiences; our local cultural heritage comes to life when you visit our neighbourhoods and communities. As an organisation, we encourage tangible initiatives to produce meaningful results.’
Alderman Vos added that communities are the heart of the global travel and tourism industry. ‘Nowhere is this truer than in South Africa, where small businesses make up around 80% of the tourism industry. In one way or another, the product that these businesses sell relates to an aspect of their community, whether that be cuisine, culture, or experience,’ said Alderman Vos.
Economic Growth Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Alderman Clive Justus, said as part of the body’s oversight role, it wanted to gain first-hand insights into Cape Town experiences and use that to see how it can influence relevant City departments to do more to help small businesses in the industry to flourish.
‘Innovative ideas that sustain livelihoods, provide opportunities for others, particularly among the youth, must be nurtured and supported by both government and the private sector,’ said Alderman Justus.
The City works closely with and supports the sector via initiatives and partners such as Cape Town Tourism.
‘The City’s priority is to continue driving the development of tourism enterprises from the ground up so that they can offer local and international visitors’ superior and memorable products. We do this through mechanisms such as the Neighbourhood Experiences Development manual and City platforms such as the Business Hub,’ said Alderman Vos.
‘Now is the time to take our offering as a destination to the next level – with our communities at the forefront.’
