The Department of Tourism has launched its Holiday Season Campaign by asking people to enjoy the sights and sounds responsibly.
Visiting the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, officials interacted with tourists and encouraged all South Africans to act as ambassadors for the country.
The department urged people to follow the rules of the road, look after little ones and to support local businesses, among other things. Deputy Director General for the Department of Tourism, Lulama Duma, is also asking all South Africans to be warm and inviting.
“Tourism is an important sector for our country, when tourists come to our country they bring dollars and euros which help to build our economy which in turn helps us to build our schools, hospitals and provide other social services.”
Meanwhile, tourists shared their experiences. “The spirit, everything here is very nice I think they people are very friendly and it’s our first time in SA and the food is good, nice people,” said one tourist.
The deputy director general for the Western Cape department of Economic Opportunities, Rashid Toefy, say the drought will not impact on visitor numbers but awareness campaigns will run continuously.
“We’ve asked tourists to act like locals and save water like locals and we’ve got some amazing campaigns we’ve even worked with AirBnB to actually give out low flow showerheads to accommodation establishments and we’ve seen the hotel and hospitality industry really come to the party.”
