DRMumbai: The alarming news that Cape Town, a city in South Africa, was on the brink of running out of water had whipped up a hubbub of apocalyptic scale, and rightly so. But, apparently, the tourism sector in the city has largely remained unaffected by the impending water woes.
Dubbing it as scaremongering, Hanneli Slabber, Regional General Manager, Asia/Australasia/Middle East, South African Tourism, said: “It was an outcome of severe drought in 2015. It may have had an impact but without the 2017 numbers, I cannot confirm it for sure. But a lot of cancellations have been knee-jerk reactions. SA Tourism has been working closely with industry, government and partners to put the message out. A lot of it is like Ebola. There is no impact on travellers.”
She made the statement while speaking at a presser held on the sidelines of the South African Tourism PR campaign in Mumbai. “Cape Town is open for business. Cape Town has water. But yes, the issue has helped us realise that industry needs to be more sustainable. How can we handle water responsibly? Private industry has come up with innovations. Many hotels are going off the grid by opening desalination plants. Remember: tourists are only less than 1 per cent of the population. So the issue cannot impact them if it’s not anymore an issue for the local population,” she said.
