Unit in key areas to ensure safety for all
FINANCE and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier has announced a Tourism Law Enforcement Unit in partnership with the City.
The unit, established last month, has been deployed in key tourist areas such as the cable car parking areas, the V&A Waterfront bridge, St George’s Mall, and the Bo-Kaap.
Maynier said at the Premier’s First Thursday function, where the theme was “All Things Tourism”, he and mayco member for safety and security JP Smith had met the officers this week.
“The deployment of the Tourism Law Enforcement Unit is one of many actions we have taken to ensure visitors have a memorable experience in Cape Town and the Western Cape. There is nowhere better to take a holiday than Cape Town and the Western Cape, he said.
Smith said: “The City and the province are determined to make our city safer for all, including both domestic and international visitors.
“The tourism sector and the jobs it provides are valuable to us, and so we are deploying staff to the CBD and other tourism areas to ensure the safety of our visitors. I want to stress that our priority for safety is for everyone.”
Maynier said: “In addition to the Tourism Law Enforcement Unit, the Department has been working with municipalities in the Western Cape to ensure they are ready for tourists by increasing staff and doing beach clean-ups.
“Visitor information centres have also been equipped to deal with any queries, and additional traffic management has been scheduled.
“The tourism sector remains the backbone of the Western Cape economy, supporting more than 300 000 direct and indirect jobs in our province alone, thanks to the millions of tourists who flock to the region annually to enjoy some of the most scenic and breathtaking locations that the globe has to offer.”
Meanwhile, Maynier announced that the Cape Town Air Access project had been successful and had “done a great deal to ensure more bums on seats at Cape Town International Airport, and helped land 15 new routes and 21 route expansions since its inception. More than 750 000 inbound seats have been added as a result, providing an economic boost of R6 billion to the province”.
He said: “Airline forward bookings between December 2019 and May 2020 for Cape Town have seen a positive increase, with bookings from the USA up by 11%, Germany up by 20%, and the United Kingdom up by 30%. Thanks to the efforts of the Cape Town Air Access team, I look forward to welcoming the first United Airlines flight from New York to Cape Town International Airport on December 16.”