The Western Cape is in for a great summer season.
Statistics for October show significant growth in local and international flights, accommodation bookings and visitor numbers at tourist attractions.
The province and the City of Cape Town say the safety of tourists is paramount to the recovery of the sector.
They have jointly launched tourism security units to deploy in tourist hotspots.
Member of the committee at the mayor’s office on safety and security J. P Smith says tourist hotspots include Long Street, Grand Parade, the Table Mountain Cable Car and Victoria and Albert Embankment.
“Twenty-six tourism security units are municipal law enforcement officers. They have powers of arrest, search and seizure, and then they are supported by 28 graduates of the provincial Chrysalis Academy, young people trained in various police disciplines and recruited by the city into our services, as well as various other projects such as recruiting them into community service centers to support the SAPS”.
Smith goes on to say, “If someone is a victim of a contact crime, a report can be made to the City Tourism Officer at home, not at a SAPS station. In the event of a need for trauma counseling and in the event of theft of travel documents such as passports, the emergency passport process is activated through liaison with the consulates.’
