Table Mountain cable car load shedding stage 6

Photo: Table Mountain / Facebook

Cape Town Tourism ahead of peak season: “We need to pull up our socks on safety”

The City’s tourism authority says it has ramped up the pressure on criminals who target tourists.

Table Mountain cable car load shedding stage 6

Photo: Table Mountain / Facebook

Cape Town Tourism says it has its own measures in place to address the issue of tourist and industry safety amid a notable increase in targeted robberies in the sector.

The City of Cape Town has, for many years, struggled to deal with the rapid increase in violence. Weekly reports on crime, from the provincial government, show that even with the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), there has not been much progress made in addressing the issue.

Speaking at a recent radio interview on the City’s readiness to keep tourists safe in the upcoming peak season, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy stated that the use of technology will be key in keeping visitors safe.

Is Cape Town safe for tourists?

The recent murder of a tourist at the Table Mountain National Park and other attacks on tourism businesses has raised questions about the City’s ability to maintain law and order.

While the unspeakable killing of the tourist sparked fears of unsafety in the Mother City, these incidents are not a common occurrence. For the most part, violent crime takes place at the southeastern periphery of the city, a region known as the Cape Flats.

Sporadic crimes that affect tourists in attraction areas is something Duminy says the City is working to clamp down on.

How will Cape Town Tourism keep visitors safe?

According to Duminy, Cape Town Tourism has been exercising safety measures that have seen a marked improvement in maintaining law and order at popular tourist attraction sites.

Since the murder of the Ukranian tourist, the City’s tourism body has pumped up its security detail at the Table Mountain National Parks.

Furthermore, to increase levels of alertness and speed up communications between posts, Cape Town Tourism has made use of WhatsApp groups that act as early warning systems.

The mandate around safety, according to Duminy, has shifted from reducing law enforcement response times to outright prevention of crime against tourists.

“We actually employed unemployed youth for them to get employment and to create visible awareness. Through technology, like WhatsApp groups, we’ve been able to communicate warnings about hotspots,” he said.

Visitors of this majestic city have been advised to follow Cape Town Tourism’s safety protocols which warn travellers to:

  • follow basic safety tips such as keeping emergency numbers on hand;
  • avoid carrying large sums of cash;
  • keep valuables safe at all times;
  • use the same vigilance you would elsewhere in the world; and
  • be mindful at all times of their surroundings when walking around any major city

More of these useful tips can be found on Cape Town Tourism’s Safety FAQ page.