Photo courtesyMike aka InsideSouthAfrica

September is not only the start of spring and a prelude to another splendid Cape Town summer, but also rings in the start of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s World Tourism Month. The international celebrations, which aim to foster awareness about the importance of tourism, culminate on World Tourism Day on September 27 under the theme “Celebrating diversity”. 

Cape Town is a melting pot of cultures and its extraordinary tapestry of people and tradition is an important contributor to the city’s tourism offering. The “My Cape Town” campaign aims to encourage Capetonians to show the world the diversity and magic that is the Mother City in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Photo courtesy Clarissa de Wet aka clarisms_4

Cape Town Tourism has planned a month-long campaign, with various elements that will allow locals and visitors alike to explore the Mother City and each other’s cultures, enabling us to be proud hosts and ambassadors in true Live it! Love it! LOUDER! style. 

A number of special offers for Cape Town attractions will be available during September, and a mammoth Flickr photographic competition will challenge Capetonians and visitors to capture “I want the world to know that Cape Town is…” in a picture. The winning picture will not only speak a thousand words, but also net the lucky winner R15 000.00 in cash! Go out, snap what you want the world to know about Cape Town and enter online at www.capetown.travel/worldtourismmonth. 

A series of mini-profile documentaries called “My Cape Town”, made in collaboration with Coffeebeans Routes and exploring the lives of people who reside in the diverse areas of our city can be viewed on Cape Town TV during September, as well as on Facebook. 

Photo courtesy Aslam Levy

Great giveaways and fun activities will also be taking place at your neighbourhood Visitor Information Centre (VIC) from September 21-26, including vuvuzela blowing, soccer matches and foosball games.  Visit our World Tourism month website now to see what activations are taking place at a VIC near you. 

The grand finale of this campaign will take place on World Tourism Day – September 27.  A number of great family tours in all three corners of Cape Town will be up for grabs!  The entry forms will be published in community newspapers Athlone News, Plainsman, Southern Mail, Tygertalk Goodwood and Parow, as well as Vukani during the week of September 7 and can be submitted by hand at our VICs, by fax to +27 21 487 6899 or emailed to marketing@capetown.travel.

A variety of tours will be on offer, including a township tour, tours of the Helderberg and Durbanville areas and surrounds, and family fun, galloping gourmet, Atlantic Seaboard excursion and cultural museum tours, to name but a few.  The winning families will be donning their Live it! Love it! LOUDER! T-shirts and brandishing vuvuzelas in preparation for welcoming the world!