About Cape Town Tourism
Cape Town Tourism is the City of Cape Town's Official Regional Tourism Organisation, responsible for destination marketing, visitor and industry services.
Successful tourism doesn’t just boost economies – it builds pride too. Cape Town Tourism believes in close encounters, people as the focus point of tourism, responsible living and immersion in the destinations and cultures we visit – this is what gives tourism in Cape Town its unique energy and appeal. We believe that tourism is built around involvement, participation, relationship and partnership, and that it is about actively taking hands with local communities, listening to their needs and working side by side to ensure that the environment and indigenous cultures are preserved, while allowing responsible travellers to experience the holiday of a lifetime.
Cape Town Tourism prides itself in a culture of service excellence and we are committed to responsible and fair tourism and business practices. We therefore work with and encourage the involvement of previously disadvantaged individuals, organisations and companies in tourism in a number of ways. We also support the principles of Responsible Tourism and Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, we are Proudly South African, we are passionate about our City and we encourage our members to adopt these principles in the operations of their businesses as well.
Cape Town Tourism is a source of relevant business information, a vehicle to provide representation to all tourism businesses, large or small, allowing access to promotion and tourism programmes, and importantly, a platform to put visitors in touch with the remarkable experiences offered by members of Cape Town Tourism.
This dynamic partnership allows us to deliver and exceed upon the expectations of visitors, whether local, national or international, whilst showing a real return on investment to stakeholders.
Cape Town Tourism deals with approximately 3 million enquiries per year through its network of well positioned Visitor Information Centres (VICs). The organization has close to 2 500 members, making it one of the largest and most representative voluntary tourism industry membership associations in the world. Members receive value for their membership fees through innovative visitor and tourism services, business development, local product marketing and local and international destination marketing.
Cape Town Tourism and the City of Cape Town have jointly set the bold target of doubling the economic impact of tourism on the city by 2020, and to do so in a sustainable way that will ensure widespread economic benefit. In the light of the constraint global tourism economy, we will have to adopt a new way of doing business.
Strategic Objectives and Priorities
The vision for tourism in the city provides the focus and framework for seven strategic objectives for our work:
- To enhance the national and international image and awareness of Cape Town as an outstanding place to live, visit, work, study and invest;
- To optimise tourism volumes and yield for the city economy in a totally sustainable and responsible manner;
- To establish good levels of tourism business all-year-round;
- To optimise the distribution of tourism benefits within the city region and beyond;
- To engage actively with the City’s tourism businesses to help them become highly competitive, embrace transformation and adopt responsible practices;
- To engage Capetonians as proud ambassadors for their city;
- To encourage action by CTT’s partner organisations in the city to develop Cape Town responsibly and ensure a safe, attractive and welcoming environment.
To fulfil these objectives, we have identified seven strategic priorities that are the focus of the business plan:
- Cape Town 365 – generating high yield tourism all-year-round;
- Developing and delivering an encompassing and engaging Cape Town brand;
- Cape Town at large – unlocking local distinctiveness, unique visitor experiences and new tourism potential, and spreading the benefits of tourism as widely as possible across the city region and beyond Cape Town;
- Strategic planning and leadership for tourism in Cape Town;
- Industry engagement: improving the performance of Cape Town’s tourism businesses and maximising their involvement in Cape Town Tourism’s programmes;
- Community engagement: getting citizens to "Live Cape Town: love Cape Town";
- Developing the business, to generate more commercial income for Cape Town Tourism to enable it to grow without relying on additional public sector funding.
We would love to help you plan your visit to our incredible city.
Please Contact us to find out more about accommodation, tours and experiences, maps and transport, top attractions, restaurants and more.
Our friendly team is waiting to help.
Contact us by email or call us for more information. Visit the Maps and Info section for more on Cape Town.
