September 27 is World Tourism Day. On that day in 1970, the Statutes of the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO) were adopted. World Tourism Day has since been observed worldwide. Each year UNWTO World identifies a main theme. This year, 2012, the theme is: Tourism Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development.
World Tourism Day is observed around the planet to raise awareness about the significance of tourism. Councillor Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee member for Tourism Events and Marketing, said: “It’s a day when we focus on how tourism can benefit local people. We look at the economic importance and benefit of tourism, which is the second largest contributing sector to the Western Cape economy.”
During September each year, the City of Cape Town and associates partner with various major attractions to provide free access to locals, through competitions and educational programmes, so that they can experience these attractions and become advocates for what Cape Town has to offer.
The City is running a pilot programme around being responsible to ensure sustainability, in an effort to set standards for the private sector to follow. This pilot programme consists of seven pillars: water, energy, solid waste, skills development, enterprise development, social responsibility and preferential procurement. Various partners within this pilot project will gather on Table Mountain to exchange ideas on 28 September 2012.
A lot of what makes this city attractive is nature based. Rising sea levels and the conservation of biodiversity are among the issues that need to be discussed with sustainability in mind when it comes to tourism.
In 2009 Cape Town was awarded Best Destination at the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards. The City and partners consistently reinforce responsible tourism messaging and apply best practise. The core elements of responsible tourism are: social impact, economic impact and environmental impact.
Cape Town continues to haul in international accolades and awards relating to travel and tourism. For example, last year Cape Town was the number one traveller’s choice destination according to TripAdvisor , the world’s most popular travel website. Cllr Pascoe said this accolade could have huge benefits for the tourism sector in Cape Town. “The accolade does however come with many responsibilities and we need to position ourselves to be able to live up to the accolade,” he said.
For more information about World Tourism Month activities and events in Cape Town, phone 0860 103 089.
