Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Table Mountain concern
Fears that attacks on hikers could harm lucrative tourism industry
LOCAL tourism could take a knock because of the recent spate of violent attacks on hikers at the Table Mountain National Park.
Cape Town’s thriving tourist industry depends on its reputation and anything that compromises the city’s good name can do lasting damage to our economy, said president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Janine Myburgh.
Last week, the Weekend Argus reported that Table Mountain National Park had seen a marked increase in armed robberies. Only two armed robberies were reported last year, with eight arrests. This year, that number has increased to 29 armed robberies, with 14 suspects apprehended.
“We have a great deal to offer tourists, but unless they feel safe, they will think twice about visiting us. Table Mountain is one of the big selling points of the city and, if it becomes known as a dangerous place, the damage to our image could be considerable. For this reason, it is essential that the problem is dealt with as quickly and firmly as possible,” said Myburgh.
She suggested going on the offensive to track down the criminals and arrest them. “We need to establish a visible presence of game rangers or law enforcement officers to reassure tourists and make them feel safer.”
Blessing Manale, chief director communications and departmental spokesperson for the Department of Tourism said the recent spike in crime concerning hikers was not a crisis. “The department is aware and is working on nipping it in the bud. Crime affects everyone and is not unique to tourism.”
Sanisha Packirisamy, an economist at Momentum Investments, said in 2017 more than 10 million tourists came into South Africa and that rising crime rates could cut into tourism profits.
“According to the government tourism directly contributed 3% to GDP and about 700 000 direct employment opportunities last year. There are also indirect positive impacts on growth and employment, which makes tourism a vital part of the economy and an opportunity to grow further.”
Enver Duminy, chief executive of Cape Town Tourism, added that any negative event reflected poorly on Cape Town as a host city, as well as impacting citizens. “Negative incidents affect tourists since the word-of-mouth messaging that results reflect poorly on us. We are aware that SANParks step up patrols during this period, but we must all, as locals, share awareness around crime hotspots.”
He said it was imperative that efforts were stepped up to provide more security within national parks via SANParks and related agencies.
“As Cape Town Tourism, we provide safety messaging to visitors via our visitor information centres and our website and we advise visitors only to hike with registered, experienced guides and in groups, and to stick to general mountain safety rules such as not hiking alone, letting people know where you are going.”