Cape Town Shares Destination Readiness Plans with Consular Corps
28 September 2021
As the world marked International Tourism Day this week, the City of Cape Town hosted a delegation of Consular-Generals to present details of Cape Town’s destination readiness plans.
“The gathering of these 20 representatives from countries in Europe, Africa, and the Americas was an important opportunity to highlight how the Mother City is preparing to welcome visitors in the coming months,” said Alderman James Vos, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities.
In highlighting Cape Town’s strategy to attract travellers, Alderman Vos shared details of the new ‘Find Your Freedom’ international campaign spearheaded by Cape Town Tourism, the City’s official destination marketing organisation (DMO).
Through the campaign, potential travellers are able to participate in an interactive video and choose their own Cape Town adventure. The City is also engaging with international partners and destinations to put branding in airports and billboards, as well as in-flight media on target airlines to convert potential travellers in key source markets to actual visitors.
“In fact, with aviation being such a crucial driver of economic growth, I’m happy to share that the City has also agreed to renew funding to the Air Access initiative,” said Alderman Vos.
“Through Air Access, 19 new routes connecting Cape Town International Airport to the world were established prior to the pandemic, and an estimated R6 billion was generated in direct tourism spend.”
Alderman Vos added that the City would also be engaging with Cape Town’s many sister cities to explore collaborations on aspects of travel for the people of our respective cities.
By strengthening these international relations, we boost travel and trade between our cities and countries, thus driving economic growth.
The meeting with Consular-Generals was an opportunity to remind them of the City’s ongoing efforts to get South Africa off the UK’s red list, and to thank those who have opened up travel to South Africa.
“With the vaccine rollout now well under way and the tourism and hospitality sector showing Covid-19 compliance, it is clear that Cape Town is ready to welcome world travellers,” added Alderman Vos.
