Cape Town Tourism is happy to announce that the winner of the “My Cape Town” competition is Sivan Miller, for his photograph entitled “Sea Point at a glance”.

The My Cape Town competition was launched in celebration of World Tourism Month and asked people to enter images that they thought epitomised Cape Town.

Many beautiful images poured in from many talented photographers, showing Cape Town in all its glory as an ideal location for photography.

The competition had 520 hopeful entrants, all vying for the coveted R15 000 prize money. This was narrowed down to only 20 photos by the Cape Town Tourism judges, and then put to a vote by the public.

The votes were reviewed and the most popular photo was Sivan Miller’s image of Sea Point.

Sivan says, “From the rocky shores of Sea Point to the top of Lion’s Head, Cape Town has it all.

“I chose to shoot this spot as it makes Cape Town appear as a little alcove which looks like it was taken out of a postcard. The light was perfect and so was the weather.

“Cape Town is my home and I am proud to live here!” he adds.

It’s the last day to vote for your favourite photo in the “My Cape Town Competition”, which was launched in celebration of World Tourism Month. The competition asked people to enter images that they thought epitomised Cape Town.

Many beautiful images poured in from many talented photographers, showing Cape Town in all its glory.

The competition had 520 hopeful entrants, all vying for the R15 000 prize money up for grabs. This was narrowed down to only 20 photos by the Cape Town Tourism judges. The rest is up to you.

All you need to do to vote for the image that best epitomises Cape Town is simply click here and select your favourite photo.

Voting closes today (October 14) at 17h00 South African time (GMT +2), after which the winner will be announced.

Photo Courtesy Leon Oosthuizen aka Woerwaks

In celebration of World Tourism Month, Cape Town Tourism launched a Flickr competition called “My Cape Town”, asking people to enter images which they thought epitomised Cape Town.

Many beautiful images poured in, from many talented photographers, showing Cape Town in all its glory.

The competition had 520 hopeful entrants, all vying for the R15 000 prize money up for grabs. But, unfortunately, in this competition there can only be one winner. The initial stages saw the Cape Town Tourism judges narrowing the field down to only 20 photos. Now, the rest is up to you.

All you need to do is vote for the image that best epitomises Cape Town, by simply clicking here.

Voting closes on October 14, 2009, after which the winner will be announced.

The winning photo of a soccer match at Gordon’s Bay

Cape Town Tourism visitor information centres (VICs) around the city celebrated World Tourism Day (September 27) in their own fun way.

Cape Town Tourism asked each VIC team to write blog posts and take photos of the day’s celebrations for an internal competition.

The winning photo of a soccer match on the beach was taken by the Gordon’s Bay team.

Annely Ickua from the Blaauwberg VIC submitted the winning blog post: “Du Noon kids play soccer on Blaauwberg beach”.

The Blaauwberg celebrations did Cape Town Tourism proud, as the end of Annely’s post shows:

“The day ended at lunch time with a fried chicken picnic on the grass. The tired Cape Town Tourism crew and the excited boys from Du Noon managed to Live it! Louder! for all passers-by and encouraged quite a few to honk their horns to a successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a celebration of our diversity and simply Living Cape Town, Loving Cape Town.”

Both the winning blog post and the photo receive Woolworths vouchers worth R250 each.

The Central & Coastal team of Cape Town Tourism made waves this Tourism Month between September 21 and 26 at the Table Mountain and Burg Street Visitor Information Centres.

Celebrating diversity and building up towards World Tourism Day, the team made it easy for citizens of the city to live and love Cape Town. The process included learning, winning and lots of noise!

Cape Town Tourism’s Live it! Love it! Louder! volunteers Yusari and Stacey handed out fliers to the public, directing people to the Visitor Information Centre. There, presenting the flier and popping a balloon revealed their prize.

Citizens answered easy questions that that will help prepare them to become knowledgeable hosts for the FIFA 2010 World Cup and get them ready to welcome the world. Some of the questions were:

1. Q: What is the name of Cape Town’s most famous mountain?
A: Table Mountain

2. Q: What is the name of the founder of the Dutch settlement at Cape Town about 350 years ago?
A: Jan van Riebeeck

3. Q: Who is the official visitor and marketing services agency of the City of Cape Town?
A: Cape Town Tourism

4. Q: Which street in the city centre of Cape Town is the original shoreline of Table Bay Harbour?
A: Strand Street

5. Q: On what date is the Tweede Nuwe Jaar or Second New Year celebrated in Cape Town?
A: January 2 each year

6. Q: How many Apostles are there overlooking the Camps Bay, Bakoven and Oudekraal beaches?
A: Twelve

7. Q: Name the hotel referred to as the Pink Lady or The Nellie. 
A: Mount Nelson Hotel

8. Q: Name the world-famous working harbour and shopping centre located at Table Bay.
A: The V&A Waterfront

9. Q: Name the island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner.
A: Robben Island

10. Q: What is Blaauwberg beach famous for in the summer? 
A: Kite surfing and wind surfing

11. Q: What is the name of the floral kingdom in the Western Cape of South Africa?
A: The Cape Floral Kingdom

12. Q: Name the famous view from Bloubergstrand and Blaauwberg.
A: The view of Table Mountain (or Robben Island)

Blaauwberg Municipality and Cape Town Tourism brought World Tourism Day alive for children from Du Noon on Sunday September 27, with a fun day on the beach.

Du Noon is an informal settlement situated to the east of Table View and north of Killarney Gardens. The people who live in Du Noon are very poor and many live in simple structures and shacks.

Unemployment levels are high, and many of those who are being employed are domestic workers in the nearby affluent areas. Youngsters in the community don’t have access to much sport and recreation.

Blaauwberg Visitor Information Centre (VIC) played host to the youngsters as part of the team’s World Tourism Day celebrations.

For some young boys, it was the first time they had been to the ocean. They got to see a different side of Cape Town and enjoyed the question-and-answer session from the Cape Town Tourism team as well as the fun and games on the beach.

From the magnificent vantage point of the VIC and the beach, the youngsters were orientated to the city centre and the famous Table Mountain view across the bay as well as Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

It was perfect weather for a game of soccer on the beach and Du Noon’s boys really know how to put on a show. Four teams played one another and the winning teams’ players walked away with their very own vuvuzela and soccer ball to continue practising their skills.

The beach was shared that morning with kite flyers and kite surfers playing in the waves surrounding the Turkish freight ship that has been stranded on the Blaauwberg beach for a few weeks now. The oil from the tanker has been safely removed and work is under way to begin dismantling the vessel for complete disposal. Onlookers couldn’t resist a picture of our well-dressed teams, watching the diski flair or a chance to try their lips on the vuvuzelas. Beach soccer certainly has a new face!

Visitors to the beach were given a true display of African soccer and visitors to the VIC on the day weren’t left out. Inside one could stand a chance of winning Table Mountain Cableway tickets, Red Topless Bus tickets, exclusive Cape Town Tourism T-shirts, South African National Parks magazines, kids’ activity books, soccer balls, kick-a-sac balls, Cape Town Tourism buttons and vuvuzelas. By answering easy questions on Cape Town, visitors not only got a chance to test their knowledge, but learnt a lot about the city they live in as they prepare themselves to be knowledgeable hosts during the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

The day ended at lunch time with a fried chicken picnic on the grass. The tired Cape Town Tourism crew and the excited boys from Du Noon managed to Live it! Louder! for all passers-by and encouraged quite a few to honk their horns to a successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a celebration of our diversity and simply Living Cape Town, Loving Cape Town.

Cape Town Tourism’s Central City team arranged exciting tours for three lucky Capetonians as part of its World Tourism Day campaign.

The first tour, known as the Central City Restaurant Safari, was an inner-city treat hosted by Mandela Rhodes’ Fish and Winesense, including late lunch with Pigalle and scrumptious dessert cappuccino and cake with Doppio Zero for a lucky couple. The winner, Sharmila Solomon, was thrilled that she could share her prize with her husband, who was celebrating his birthday that very weekend!

The second tour, an exploration of the Mother City’s history, was a walking tour of the city centre with exotic beverages from the Gold Restaurant and visits to the Slave Lodge, the South African National Gallery, Parliament and the Bo Kaap Museum, ending off with a typical Malay lunch and storytelling at the Bo Kaap Kombuis, with its great view of the city. Angelique Juli and her son were delighted to be the winners of this awesome prize, showcasing the city’s history and stories. Other youngsters will join the group to complete the team of four for this exciting excursion.

The final tour, City Centre Night on the Town, was by far everyone’s favourite prize. Cape Town is world famous as an entertainment and lifestyle destination.

The city vibe, the people’s vibrant colour and energy are a big draw card and everyone loves a good night out in the city. Bar-hopping on Long Street courtesy of Neighbourhood Bar, Cape to Cuba, Zula Lounge, Long Street Café and the Waiting Room was the beginning of this self-guided tour, which culminated with dinner at the famous Café Royale Burger Eatery.

Howard Gamaroff made no secret of how this prize would make his day. He’d lived close to the city, but never taken the time to explore the popular nightlife district of Long Street. 

All tour winners visited Cape Town Tourism Burg Street Visitor Information Centre on Sunday September 27 to collect their prizes as they embarked on their tours.

Cape Town Tourism’s Khayelitsha office celebrated World Tourism Day with the Khayelitsha community on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

The locals had the time of their lives learning the diski dance and playing five-a-side football games. The weather was sunny and the music was loud, as the people of Khayelitsha were living, loving, playing diski, louder!

Cape Town Tourism also gave away sightseeing bus tickets, Cape Town T-shirts and soccer balls.

Khayelitsha is certainly getting into the spirit of the 2010 World Cup and ready to welcome visitors!

Cape Town’s changeable weather didn’t deter the Willowbridge office of Cape Town Tourism from its Tourism Month plans in September.

Two team members were stationed in the Willowbridge Lifestyle Centre, handing out tickets to the public and asking them to pop in at the Cape Town Tourism office to collect mystery prizes.

Warren Fondling was the winner of four tickets to On Broadway, the theatre in Shortmarket Street.

The team also handed out badges, T-shirts, and tickets for the sightseeing bus and Table Mountain.

It was so exciting that one gentleman won a T-shirt, posed for the picture and unconsciously walked out the office with the vuvuzela.  We managed to track him down and get our vuvuzela back!

International and local visitors passing through Cape Town International Airport enjoyed the Tourism Month celebrations organised by Cape Town Tourism.

Tourists were blowing vuvuzelas as loudly as possible, wearing Cape Town Tourism T-shirts and proudly showing that Cape Town is truly gearing up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The City of Cape Town was complimented as one of the best and friendliest cities, with the greatest hospitality ever. Some visitors even described it as a home away from home and said they would love to bring the rest of their family and friends with them next time they come to Cape Town, to experience all the cultures we have to offer.

Everyone was friendly and eager to share their most memorable moments in Cape Town and the Western Cape. One tourist promised to email Cape Town Tourism her favourite photos as soon as she got back to Germany.

Another visitor, Rene Dutchek, said she would wear her T-shirt with a great Capetonian smile.

The winner of the Table Mountain tickets was Zanier Borak from Pakistan and Whade Darrick was the lucky winner of the city sightseeing bus trip.

Edwin Chia was one of the many tourists who went on a peninsula tour and his photos won him a Cape Town T-shirt.

The campaign reminded us all of our country’s superior status as an exciting holiday destination.