Call for tourists to ‘please come back’ to Cape Town
London – Please come back to the Western Cape and Cape Town.
This was the message to anyone who stayed away owing to the water crisis. The call went out during a panel discussion on tourism and water at World Travel Market London on Tuesday.
It was made by Helen Davies, chief director of the green economy at the Western Cape Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
Take a little, give a lot
According to Davies, 330 000 jobs in the Western Cape rely on tourism, and tourists use just a small percentage of the province’s water.
“The Western Cape and Cape Town are incredible destinations. Anyone who stayed away because of the drought must please come back,” she said.
However, she acknowledged that Cape Town was not out of the woods.
“The water crisis in Cape Town was a huge wake up call for us. None of us expected climate change to hit us this quickly,” she said.
It was the partnership approach between government, the business sector, civil society and academia that eventually averted Day Zero, she said.
Source: fin24.com