It's time to bounce back, Cape Town!

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS

I welcome the President’s announcement of the reopening of our international borders, albeit under certain conditions.

Cape Town is ready to implement the recovery plans we have designed to get Cape Town back to business safely and in time for our city’s peak season.

The City is ready to implement various recovery plans we have designed to get Cape Town back to business safely and in time for our city’s peak season.

Our focus is on getting all sectors back to business because our economy relies on visitors who visit Cape Town for events, conferences, leisure and business. At the end of the day, these industries are all dependent on travel and trade to thrive and grow.

The City’s Tourism Task Team’s Bounce Back strategy is designed to plot a sustainable and inclusive future for this vital and vibrant sector. A cornerstone of this strategy is our marketing and communications approach to reimagine and reignite visitor demand to Visit, Live, Work, Study, Play & Invest in Cape Town.

Our local businesses are vital for job creation, job retention and investment.  Local business accounts for 70% of new investments in our local economy and the growth of existing business also creates opportunities for more jobs and start-ups.

Our Economic Action Plan includes enhancing business retention efforts, making it easier for expansion and investment to resume again; equipping businesses for new ways of working; and using the City’s sectoral support approach to identify and exploit new sectoral opportunities emerging from the crisis.

I have been impressed by the resilience and innovation that I have seen in my extensive engagements with stakeholders across the spectrum in the tourism and related industries, from the Cape Town International Airport to the accommodation sector, the food and beverage sector, and our iconic attractions.

Our travel economy is everyone’s business, so as a City, we are looking forward to implementing our recovery plans and working even harder to ensure that Cape Town bounces back stronger than before.