Cape Town’s Tourism Players Working Together

Cape Town (South Africa) – May 13, 2013 – “Cape Town is famed for its natural beauty and that’s one of our biggest draw-cards. Yet, the city’s offer extends far beyond leisure and this is the message we will be driving at the Tourism Indaba,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing at the City of Cape Town, Councillor Grant Pascoe, “This is an opportunity to showcase Cape Town’s offering for visitors, business and students at one of the continent’s largest tourism marketing events.”

Cape Town will be represented at Indaba by a collective of key tourism players from the region, led by The City of Cape Town. Cllr. Pascoe, said the city would be joined by its partners Cape Town Tourism, the South African National Parks, the Big 6 Attractions, and the province’s official trade promotion agency, Wesgro. The Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), Cape Town’s World Design Capital team, and the City’s Arts and Culture department will also join the delegation.

The City of Cape Town stand (DEC1F13) will reflect Cape Town’s position as a value-for-money destination famed for sporting, entertainment, and arts events but will also examine its focus on golf and adventure tourism, as well as responsible tourism. “The city is developing a golf strategy and our partners will be at our stand at the Tourism Indaba. This will ensure collaboration between golf clubs to present an attractive, packaged destination offering,” said Pascoe.

“We are happy to pursue our traditional markets, but we are going to be tapping into new growth areas. And many of these are based on our existing strengths. Arts and Culture tourism, Muslim travel, youth travel and sports tourism are among the fastest growing markets and Cape Town is well placed to take advantage of these.”

In addition, the City of Cape Town will once again host the Tourism Cities at Indaba Seminar on Sunday, May 12, 2013, exploring urban tourism and the importance of sustainable energy in the urban environment and tourism landscape.

Indaba also marks the launch – and preview – of the National Geographic documentary, A Tale of Two Cities – featuring authentic, people driven perspectives on Cape Town and Durban. The documentary is the first international outcome of an aligned marketing effort between Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg – The Three City Alliance – which was signed into agreement at Indaba in 2012.

Cape Town Tourism will share information about Cape Town Tourism’s online Cape Town Toolkit [ www.capetown.travel/toolkit] resource – the ultimate digital box of tricks used by trade, media and visitors to uncover, showcase and sell destination Cape Town. The revised Cape Town Toolkit no longer requires login to access the tool and the design allows for truly easy navigation by all.

There will also be info on “‘Love Cape Town City Breaks” [ www.capetown.travel/deals ] packages. Cape Town Tourism and Thompsons Holidays winter packages that offer diverse and highly affordable itineraries for domestic travel from May to September 2013. Cape Town Tourism’s first ever printed broadsheet with details of the ‘Love Cape Town City Breaks’ winter deals and a central Cape Town street map will be available from the City of Cape Town stand at Indaba – or in the coming months from Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centers, Thompsons Holidays offices, in MANGO aircrafts and at events in Cape Town.

Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, explains: “With an increased focus on events and an exciting World Design Capital 2014 year ahead, Cape Town Tourism is working with our industry partners to demonstrate the diverse destination offering that is Cape Town. As a collective of tourism players we are carrying one message about a place that is a hot bed of experiences, hidden gems and adventures.”

There will be a special Indaba preview of the National Geographic documentary; The Tale of Two Cities. The documentary will be privately screened on Friday, May 10, from 1630-1830 hours at The Playhouse Company, Durban, ahead of its official airing on the National Geographic Channel. The hour-long show explores the cities of Durban and Cape Town as two complex urban centers of South Africa – telling a less traditional tourism story through the everyday lives and history of its people.

Media Contact: Cape Town Tourism, PR and Communication Manager, Skye Grove, +27 21 487 6800, email skye@capetown.travel , www.capetown.travel