Cape Town -
Cape Town looks set for a bumper holiday season with visitor numbers similar to those of last year, mayor Patricia de Lille said on Friday as she launched the city’s beach safety campaign.
De Lille said reports of large numbers of visitors passing through Cape Town International Airport and the Huguenot Tunnel were a promising sign for the city’s tourist visitor numbers.
Confirmed visitor numbers will only be published next year.
The mayor’s statement echoed that of Cape Town Tourism, which said last month holiday accommodation forecasts were up year on year.
As the early afternoon sun beat down on a packed Clifton Fourth Beach on Friday, De Lille, accompanied by city councillors Brett Herron, Benedicta van Minnen and Jacques Weber, handed out paper goody bags containing sunscreen, a frisbee and beach safety pamphlets to beachgoers.
The frisbees were a big hit with children, who immediately started playing with them in the surf.
Some young beachgoers, fearing they would miss their turn to get one of the bags the mayor was carrying, shyly approached her and asked if they could get one too, before proudly carrying off their prizes.
Sunscreen, which the mayor also handed out liberally, was not as popular with the youngsters – although most were happy to let the mayor top them up.
One little girl even returned the favour, dabbing sunscreen on the mayor’s face after De Lille had given her another layer of protection.
The city officials visited the popular Cape Town beach to mark the launch of this year’s “I love my beach” campaign, which seeks to keep the city’s 83 beaches clean, safe and alcohol-free over the holidays.
The safety pamphlets include emergency contact numbers, as well as tips on shark safety and rip currents.
“Our visit today is all about creating awareness that we must love our beaches and use them responsibly,” said De Lille.
“We all want to live in a world-class city, and in order to achieve that we all have a role to play in keeping our beaches safe and clean.”
In an earlier statement De Lille said the city had budgeted an extra R 22.2 million to spend on a “top-up” cleaning service for scenic routes, key business areas and beaches between November and February.
An additional 1 864 Expanded Public Works Programme workers had been hired for cleaning operations over weekends and holidays.
The mayor appealed to the public to not use alcohol on beaches, and to keep a close eye on their children. “Those who break the law by consuming alcohol on our beaches are potentially putting themselves at risk.”
After visiting Clifton, De Lille moved on to Camps Bay.
On Saturday and Sunday she will visit more beaches, including Silverstroom, Gordon’s Bay, Muizenberg and Monwabisi.
- Saturday Argus