Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says the launch of the Tourism Safety Monitors will help improve safety around Table Mountain and bolster tourist arrivals.
Kubayi-Ngubane said this when she introduced 69 new safety monitor recruits at the launch of the National Tourism Safety Awareness Campaign at Table Mountain in Cape Town recently.
“I am excited because I’m able to say to our tourists we are doing something about their concerns and today we are here deploying our safety monitors.
“We are rolling out our safety campaign to ensure that when tourists come here, they enjoy this beautiful country and go back to their countries and tell many other people to visit South Africa,” she said.
The launch follows concerns over the number of incidents, where tourists fell victim to violent attacks on Table Mountain.
In a recent incident, an Ukranian tourist was attacked and murdered for his belongings while hiking on Chapman’s Peak.
This sparked outrage over the lack of safety patrols on Table Mountain, which is world renowned as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
In addition to the 69 recruits, about 19 more are still in training and will be deployed in the near future. They will monitor activities on the mountain and report promptly to the police if there is anything suspicious.
The initiative is in partnership with South African National Parks, the Department of Environment, Fisheries and Forestry, SA Police Service and the business sector. It also boost job creation efforts as the safety monitors were previously unemployed.
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