Improving the safety of tourists and enhancing their experience of the Cape Town CBD is at the heart of a new programme recently introduced by the National Department of Tourism (NDT) in collaboration with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
The Tourism Monitor Programme, which also provides work opportunities to first-time job seekers, is part of a longterm strategy by national government to enhance prime tourism destinations in the country. The programme, launched in November in Cape Town, sees Tourism Monitors being deployed throughout the country to several areas and tourist attractions. Their tasks include interacting with tourists and patrolling identified tourist hotspots to ensure they are safe, and reporting any incidents to relevant enforcement agencies.
In downtown Cape Town, 16 Tourism Monitors have been allocated for a year. They are being deployed and managed by the CCID’s Safety & Security department to focus specifically on educating tourists about the dangers of ATM fraud and promoting the CBD’s tourist attractions. Applauding the initiative, CCID manager of Safety & Security, Muneeb “Mo” Hendricks, says their presence “will go a long way in boosting the CCID’s efforts and those of its partners to help ensure that both locals and visitors have peace of mind while enjoying themselves in the CBD during the festive season and beyond”.
The monitors, who are highly visible in their bright orange outfits, join the CCID’s other student ambassadors from the Chrysalis Academy who are deployed during the day in the Company’s Garden and at certain hotspot ATMs throughout the City Centre to prevent ATM fraud.
IMAGES: CCID