CAPE Town will announce a responsible tourism campaign at World Travel Market (WTM) in London in November, says Mayor, Helen Zille.
 
In an address delivered on her behalf by Councillor Simon Grindrod at a Cape Town Asata meeting on September 17, she said the campaign aimed at establishing the city as a globally recognised responsible tourism destination. “A policy is being drafted to ensure that the city, in its day-to-day business, applies and drives a sustainable agenda, be it in its land-use policies and applications procedures or how business impacts on the environment and our socio-cultural heritage,” she said. The tourism industry in Cape Town would be asked to commit to the campaign and first responses from the sector had been heartening. “A campaign action team is in place and input from industry is driving the process,” she said.
 
“With less than two years to go to the Fifa 2010 World Cup and the eyes of the world upon us, there has never been a more opportune time in tourism. But the tourism industry…has also never before faced such an urgent need to address the triple bottom line. We must invest in solid, practical and firm principles of ethical behaviour, management and lifestyle, balancing the fragile state of our climate, communities, the natural environment, with the need to grow the tourism economy to address poverty and unemployment.”