Cape Town’s water crisis, dubbed ‘Day Zero’, was originally scheduled for this year, but could now be postponed till 2019, dependent on rainfall and if water savings continue.
Leader of the Democratic Alliance party, Mmusi Maimane declared that Day Zero would not arrive in Cape Town until 2019, however despite the uplifting news, he was quick to warn against complacency and urged everyone in the City to remain water conscious.
The City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson said if there was no rainfall, Day Zero would arrive on August 27. However, as this date falls within the normal rainfall period, it is inappropriate to project a date without any consideration of rainfall. “Provided we continue our current water savings efforts, Day Zero can be avoided completely this year.”
“When this is factored in (rainfall), together with the low levels of consumption, reductions in water usage by agriculture, transfers from other water systems, and the alternative water supplies that are coming online – it is now clear that the taps will stay open this year,” said Wesgro in a statement.
The Last Word Boutique Hotels General Manager, Nicky Coenen, commented: “This is great news for the tourism industry and Cape Town – a huge relief; however the damage that the announcement of Day Zero caused internationally is immense, and has had an enormous impact on forward bookings into Cape Town.”
Coenen says, as a small boutique business, they are feeling the impact of this, and despite the efforts made by Wesgro, South African Tourism, Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, and Cape Town Tourism, it will take some time before the positive effects of no Day Zero will be seen.
“Whilst every effort is made to save water and remain water conscious, the international markets are nervous to send clients to Cape Town and, in turn, SA,” says Coenen “The international press has not helped matters and one can only hope that, as quickly as the disaster was communicated worldwide, we will see some positive messages going out into the international market place soon so that we can start to recover from this situation and move forward.”
SA’s tourism industry is resilient, facing many issues in the past, according to Coenen. “We will certainly see tourism to Cape Town bounce back positively and with renewed vigor…It is the collective effort of every person and business in the Western Cape that has enabled the pushing out of the date. As the message has always been – the Western Cape is open for business; just be mindful of the water.”
Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, adds: “We view this as a smaller part of the holistic vision of sustainable tourism. The water issue has highlighted for us the urgent need to address sustainable tourism measures across the sector. That’s always been our focus, and now we can look to encouraging tourism alongside this essential message: make sure the destination is equipped to manage its natural resources.
“The tourism industry has certainly been a great example in terms of water-saving measures and in educating tourists,” he says.
Wesgro concludes: “By working together to beat Day Zero, we have built a water-smart destination that will be a beacon of hope for many other places around the world that will face the effects of climate change.”
