The City of Cape Town will deploy its largest-ever festive tourism safety operation ahead of expected record-breaking visitor numbers to the Mother City this summer.
This includes a special deployment of Tourism Unit personnel to Table Mountain National Park and the CBD.
The plan was launched yesterday (November 8) with the City’s partners, including the South African Police Service, SANParks, City Improvement Districts, and neighbourhood watches.
Over the last two weeks, there has been increased concern about safety in the Mother City following two incidents involving foreign tourists. The first involved a US tourist being shot in the face in the township of Nyanga after his GPS routed him through there on his way to Simon’s Town.
And, according to News24, yesterday (November 8) a German couple were robbed of their camera and GPS when they stopped at a scenic spot off Baden Powell Road. Two men have subsequently been arrested after bystanders and police gave chase after coming across the scene.
“Tourism contributes significantly to our provincial economy and job creation which is why every tourist is precious, and we are appalled by the recent violent attacks. We are working closely with City law enforcement, car-hire companies and role-players responsible for the routes near the airport, as well as key tourist areas,” said Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger.
She commented that all tourism stakeholders in the province took the safety of residents and visitors very seriously, and had mobilised one of the biggest safety campaigns through the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme.
“As we prepare for a busy summer season, in which we are expecting a record-breaking one million inbound international seats via air, we will continue to work hard and allocate resources to keep people in the province safe,” said Wenger.
‘Safety a top priority’
“We want everyone who visits Cape Town to have a safe and good time, because we know how important tourism is to our local economy and the many tens of thousands of local jobs it supports,” said Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“Safety is a top priority for the City, with over 4 000 uniformed enforcement and emergency personnel available in shifts as part of the City’s largest-ever safety deployment over a festive season.
“Aside from general crime prevention activities, the City is making a special deployment of 80 personnel for dedicated safety, patrolling tourism routes at Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain trails, the Bo-Kaap, Waterfront, and CBD.”
Hill-Lewis elaborated: “Safety technology will also be a key feature of our festive operations, including drones, dashcams, automatic number plate recognition, and CCTV. This is part of the City’s major safety technology investment, amounting to R860m (€43.2m) over three years.”
A Metropole Integrated Joint Operational Centre (JOC) will be established at the Traffic Management Centre in Goodwood, co-ordinating with four Area JOCs in different parts of the City, integrated beach JOCs, and the SAPS Command Centre.
Cape Town has further established Africa’s largest CCTV surveillance network of over 3 000 cameras, including public and registered private cameras. The City also increasingly uses drones, including in operations on beaches and around Table Mountain.
To promote highway safety, the City’s newly established Highway patrol unit will monitor key routes such as the N2 and R300. The unit hit 1 000 arrests in its first year, and uses 'dashcams' equipped with Automated Number Plate Recognition tech to instantly identify wanted vehicles and outstanding warrants.
“Our festive season plan is built around public safety and, over time, we’ve expanded the blueprint and our resources to meet the growing demand. Last festive season, our personnel deployed across the metropole executed more than 11 000 operations, working closely with other enforcement and public safety organisations. Operations will be even larger this year, and the expanded tourism unit is but the latest example of identifying and addressing a need, in partnership with other agencies, to improve public safety,” said JP Smith, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
Safety travel advice for visitors
Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, pointed out that the City was prioritising safety travel advice for visitors, especially in light of concerning incidents of tourists falling victim to crime after inadvertently ending up in hotspots.
“Besides communicating vital safety information with Cape Town Tourism’s extensive member database, the City is also in touch with diplomatic representatives, and is engaging with GPS services on safe route recommendations for travellers moving in and around the metro,” said Vos.
Various safety resources have been produced, including:
- TravelWise: This platform includes up-to-date safety information, practical tips and emergency contact numbers.
- The Namola App is a free safety response app that pinpoints your location and connects travellers to an emergency operator quickly and efficiently.
- The Band-Aid Programme: help for those in distress, including lost travel documents, counselling, and emergency accommodation, laying a charge at SAPS, and contacting banks in the event of bank card fraud. The 24/7 Band-Aid contact number is 021 487 6552.
- Visitors can also speak to Cape Town Tourism staff at Cape Town International Airport, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and City Hall.
“Our ongoing mission is to ensure the safety of all visitors to our shores, including providing the critical resources people need to stay vigilant and travel wisely. We urge special caution for visitors following a GPS. Our TravelWise website outlines crime hotspot zones to alert visitors, and travellers may also contact CTTs 24-hour Emergency WhatsApp line on +27 82 415 7127,” said Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy.
Industry-wide safety meeting
Government and the private sector have intensified efforts to address the issue of tourism safety – highlighted as a key barrier to South Africa’s tourism growth – and next Thursday (November 16) an industry-wide online meeting on safety and security for the South African tourism industry will be jointly hosted by industry associations and the Department of Tourism.
This workshop will provide updates on the initiatives developed and future plans about the burning safety issue in the industry.
