Cape Town banks on responsible tourism

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Known around the globe as a place of beauty, Cape Town is naturally well placed to offer the authenticity and diversity desired by a responsible traveller, but its star is also rising as Cape Town finds a future fit that is socially, ecologically and economically responsible.

For many years, Cape Town Tourism has been a key stakeholder in the drive to raise awareness of good practice for responsible tourism in the Mother City. Working closely with the City of Cape Town, and other stakeholders, such as Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, Cape Town Tourism is prioritising sustainability as a guiding principle of growth in all aspects of tourism.

In 2002 the Cape Town Declaration was developed as the foundation for a responsible tourism charter and, in 2009, this charter was realised with The Responsible Tourism Policy for the City of Cape Town, which seeks to guide growth that is sustainable and broadly beneficial.

Cape Town’s famed natural biodiversity depends heavily on its users to be responsible and ensure its conservation as many eco-attractions run throughout the City and their economic value is driven largely by its importance to tourism. The complex history of the City has also left its mark on the socio-economic dynamic as poverty stalks many communities and opportunities within the sustainable tourism landscape could assist in lessening this hardship.

Cape Town was the first destination to receive the Virgin Holiday’s Responsible Tourism Award in 2009, for their commitment to sustainable tourism.

Whilst, on a local stage, The Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards, now in its ninth year, rewards tourism businesses that demonstrate sustained responsible practices in terms of their natural, social and economic environments. This year, ten out of the twenty three finalists up for a 2010 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award are either based in Cape Town or are Cape Town Tourism members.

Cape Town Tourism also hosted a responsible tourism networking event, in celebration of World Responsible Tourism Day, focussing on what the city is doing to further its Responsible Tourism Goals and how establishments can reduce their carbon footprint.

Speaking from the World Travel Market, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold said that tourism was uniquely able to respond to shifts in global thinking; “We can remain competitive by adopting a consumer friendly attitude. In the case of responsible tourism, this is not only an incentive but a necessity in order to ensure tourism into the future and beyond.” 

For more information about Cape Town Tourism’s Responsible Tourism Guidelines and some handy links, please visit: www.capetown.travel/industry/industry_programmes/responsible_tourism/

To see the Responsible Tourism Charter and the City’s Responsible Tourism Policy, please visit www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/CitysignsCapeTownResponsibleTourismCharter.aspx

Valere Tjolle

Get free sustainable tourism reports from Vision on Sustainable Tourism HERE

Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite: FINAL WEEK OF EXTRA SPECIAL OFFER at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1145184.php