SAFETY AT THE CENTRE OF CAPE TOWN’S TOURISM SECTOR REOPENING STRATEGY

Cape Town’s hospitality industry is gearing up for a safe reopening.

Establishments are taking steps to ensure that Cape Town remains not only a highly desirable destination, but also a safe destination for all.

During a visit to some of the city’s top hotels and attractions last week, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities, James Vos, and Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy, assessed the new health and safety protocols being introduced. They visited three city bowl hotels and two popular Cape Town wine farms.

John van Rooyen, Tsogo Sun Operations Director, said Africa’s leading hospitality group was “raring to go” after implementing all the safety measures recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We’ve done all the assessments and have all the protocols in place. While many may view the temperature checks, screenings and adhering to other measures as an inconvenience, we have to do it to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Van Rooyen added that the group’s focus now was on the domestic market, and that South Africans could expect exciting promotions over the next few months.

Federico J. González, CEO, Radisson Hospitality AB and Chairman of Radisson Hotel Group’s Global Steering Committee, said the group’s highest priority was the continued health, safety and security of its guests, team members and business partners.

“The company has conducted a thorough review of all existing health and safety processes and worked with a team of experts to develop and validate additional protocols,” said González in a statement.

“These enhanced protocols, operational guidance and comprehensive health and safety procedures will be adapted based on local requirements and recommendations, to ensure guests’ safety and peace of mind from check-in to check-out.”

New safety measures include hand sanitising stations at all entrances, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and protective screens, enhanced and recorded cleaning and disinfection frequency, social distancing in all areas, including the meeting and event facilities.

For Groot Constantia, one of Cape Town’s Big 6 tourist attractions, the health and safety of staff is a top priority.

“To date, we haven’t recorded a single Covid case, which proves to me that our measures are effective,” said Groot Constantia CEO, Jean Naude. “We are taking extra precaution and have implemented all the required health and safety protocols.”

Naude added that Cape Town’s hospitality industry was looking forward to welcome back visitors.

It’s very important to ensure that the hospitality industry is reopened safely

Chefs at Durbanville Hills’ Tangram restaurant were back in the kitchen last week to sanitise all equipment and familiarise themselves with the new health and safety protocols.

Tangram general manager, Dirk Steyn, said: “We can’t wait to get started and welcome back guests.”

“All staff will undergo Covid-19 health and safety training before reporting back to duty to serve our guests. That’s our number one priority.”

Reflecting on the visits to establishments, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy, said he was encouraged by the positive steps taken by industry to ensure that Cape Town “not only remains a highly desirable destination, but also remains a safe destination for all”.

“We have to make sure that we provide visitor confidence and therefore destination confidence, but also to provide safety and confidence to employees in the sector,” Duminy said.

“We are quite encouraged by what the industry has and will be implementing. Safety protocols have been put in place, making sure that sanitisation is always top of mind and that there is adherence to the policies and protocols, but also making sure that it can be tested on a regular basis by having more and more people visit establishments and attractions.”

The City of Cape Town has been hard at work to limit the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector.

Said James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities: “The Tourism Task Team which I established early on in the crisis has already begun work on a bounce back strategy to ensure that Cape Town is top of mind when domestic and international travel reopen.”