THE Western Cape’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) has budgeted R1m (€69 300) in 2018/19 for safety and security initiatives. This includes a proactive communication campaign and particular focus on safety in the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and prevention of ATM fraud targeting tourists in the Cape Town CBD.

This was announced by Western Cape MEC for Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, while presenting the department’s budget speech in the Western Cape Parliament on Friday. DEDAT has received a total of R433.46m (€30m) in funding for the 2018/19 financial year, but this covers economic development across several economic sectors, not just tourism.  

Winde said TMNP had been identified as a crime hotspot. DEDAT was building partnerships with the SA Police Services, the National Prosecuting Authority and rangers in the park to ensure safety. “We share the concerns of our residents and visitors about safety in the Table Mountain National Park, which is managed by a national entity. We are focusing on safety with renewed energy,” he said.

The department would also continue to fund a campaign to prevent ATM fraud targeting tourists. He said a special task team has been established to investigate the issue after it was flagged by concerned hoteliers, resulting in the prevention of 17 ATM fraud cases during the past three months.  The task team includes the Cape Town Central Improvement District (CCID), police, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement, the provincial Department of Community Safety (DOCS), Cape Town Tourism, representatives of the hospitality industry, banking fraud investigators and the National Prosecuting Authority. “The department will once again be rolling out the ATM fraud prevention project in the coming year, in collaboration with DOCS and the CCID, and with the help of 50 trained students from the Chrysalis Academy,” he said.

Winde said tourism GVA (gross value added) in the Western Cape had grown by R2bn (€138.6m) or 11% year-on-year between the third quarter of 2016 and the third quarter of 2017 and created more than 26 000 jobs in the tourism sector. He said an additional direct tourism spend of R620m (€42.97m) was expected from the 106 000 additional inbound seats on new and expanded airline routes successfully negotiated so far this year by Wesgro’s Cape Town Air Access team.

The budget speech went on to include the following key points for the tourism industry:

-Tourism Growwth Value Added (GVA) grew 11% year-on-year between the third quarter of 2016 and the third quarter of 2017, and more than 26 000 jobs have been created in the sector since the inception of Project Khulisa.

-Arrivals into Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) showed positive growth between December 2016 and December 2017. Furthermore, the Air Access team secured new routes with three airlines, six route expansions and connected CT with four new destinations, all of which are set to add an additional 106 000 inbound seats.

-Cycling tourism: Two new cycling routes are set to launch this year, taking cyclists on multi-day rides in the province, growing town’s economies through tourism and hospitality.

-Culture and heritage tourism has been identified as a focus point to grow tourism in the province.

-Employment: The number of people employed in the province increased by 106 000 year-on-year between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2017.

-Business confidence improved, moving from 35 index points in December to 50 points in March.

-Wesgro secured a total of 20 investment with an estimated value of R3.3 billion (€229 million) in the past, resulting in the facilitation of 1 346 jobs.