Tag Archives: safety

New metered Taxi policy for Cape Town, without Tourism industry input!

Metered Taxis Cape TownGood news in a City of Cape Town weekly newsletter is the development of a by-law intended to regulate the metered taxi industry in Cape Town, which has got out of hand in the operation of its service.

The City’s by-law is intended to regulate fares, ‘pick-up conditions’, safety, vehicle standards, and to set minimum service standards, intended to be implemented over the next three years.  In developing the new strategy, the City of Cape Town consulted with the Western Cape Metered Taxi Council, and did a comparative study of international best practice in cities such as New York, Dublin, Sydney, and Nairobi.

The City had set a moratorium on issuing new taxi licences until yesterday, and now all new applications will be evaluated against the new metered taxi strategy.   Included in the strategy is addressing the following concerns regarding the industry: Continue reading →

Blue Flag beaches Tourism boost for Cape Town and Western Cape!

The Western Cape has 21 Blue Flag beaches out of 36 nationally, with eight of these in Cape Town alone and three each in Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay, excellent news for tourism to our city and province, as they are a confirmation of international standards of cleanliness, environmental management, and safety. ‘..the Blue Flag programme has impacts in terms of economic benefits, job creation and improved environmental management’, said Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk at the ceremony to award the latest Blue Flag beaches.

The list of beaches is as follows:

Cape Town :  Camps Bay, Clifton 4th beach, Bikini Beach (Gordon’s Bay), Mnandi Beach (False Bay), Muizenberg, Strandfontein, Llandudno, Silwerstroomstrand (near Melkbos).

Mossel Bay: Santos Beach, Hartenbos, De Bakke

Plettenberg Bay: Robberg, Keurboomstrand, Nature’s Valley

Overstrand: Grotto Beach, Kleinmond

Other:  Wilderness, Brenton on Sea, Strandfontein (near Vredenburg), Lappiesbaai (Stilbaai), Witsand

A list of 32 criteria is evaluated for a beach to be awarded Blue Flag status, focusing on water quality, environmental focus (education, information, and management), and safety and services (including parking availability, ablution facilities, and life-saving).  Minister van Schalkwyk added that “…tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and one that is heavily dependent on the natural resource base. Attractive coastal landscapes such sandy beaches, dune areas, estuaries, and coastal lakes are also preferred sites for tourism development. Hence, uncontrolled and ill-planned tourism significantly degrades the environment. Our environment is one of our greatest tourism resources. As the global sector grows, its impact on natural resources also grows, and therefore the need for sustainable planning and management become imperative for this industry.”

The Minister said that currently our country is promoted largely around its safari-type experiences and its beaches: “We have the capability and the means, the welcoming culture, and the varied, textured, beautiful destination that the world’s travellers – ever more demanding and discerning – want when they choose a destination.  As the number of Blue Flag beaches increases in South African, domestic visitors are increasingly exercising their choices in which beaches they visit and, as with international trends, our Blue Flag beaches are becoming the “beach of choice”.

The Blue Flag beach quality evaluation was introduced in Europe 25 years ago, awarding beaches that met the European Union Bathing Water Directive.  It is awarded in 40 countries, close to 4000 beaches being evaluated.  In South Africa beaches have been evaluated for Blue Flag status in the past twelve years.  In its year of inception there were only three Blue Flag beaches; now there are 36. Four marinas received Blue Flag status for the first time, including Yachtport in Saldanha, and the Granger Bay Water Club and False Bay Yacht Club in Cape Town.

Blue Flag beach status is not well communicated, and one would encourage the municipalities with such beaches to erect educational signage on the award-winning beaches, to enhance their tourism benefit.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:  www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Life’s a Blue Flag Beach! Western Cape beaches best

For the tenth year running South African beaches have been evaluated, and 15 beaches in the Western Cape, and five in Cape Town alone, have been awarded Blue Flag status, reports Southern African Tourism Update.  In total 27 beaches have been awarded Blue Flag status around the country, meaning that the Western Cape has the cleanest beaches in general in the country, an excellent benefit for tourism.   Another 14 beaches are ‘bubbling under’, working on their Blue Flag status for next year. 

Ten years ago only three South African beaches were awarded Blue Flag status.   South Africa is the only country outside of Europe to have its beaches tested for quality.   This ensures that locals as well as tourists can be guaranteed world-class beaches and facilities, being safe, clean and well-managed.   Climate change is affecting the quality of beaches and its facilities, and municipalities are commended for spending scarce financial resources to rehabilitate these beaches in order to meet and maintain the Blue Flag standards.     

The 27 Blue Flag beaches are the following:

MacDougall’s Bay, Port Nolloth  
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Yzerfontein Main beach, Yzerfontein 
Clifton 4th beach, Cape Town 
Camps Bay, Cape Town    
Muizenberg, Cape Town    
Strandfontein beach, Cape Town  
Mnandi beach, Cape Town    
Bikini beach, Gordon’s Bay   
Kleinmond beach, near Hermanus   
Hawston beach, near Hermanus   
Grotto beach, Hermanus    
Lappiesbaai, Stilbaai, Southern Cape
Witsand at the mouth of the Breede River  
Santos beach, Mossel Bay   
Hartenbos beach, Mossel Bay
Robberg 5 beach, Plettenberg Bay  
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Dolphin beach, Jeffrey’s Bay  
Humewood beach, Port Elizabeth 
Wells Estate, north of Port Elizabeth  
Kelly’s beach, Port Alfred    
Kariega Main beach, Kenton-on-Sea 
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Umzumbe (Pumula) on the south coast KZN (new)
Lucien beach near Margate (back)
Trafalgar beach, south coast KZN 
Marina beach, south coast KZN  
Ramsgate beach, near Margate  
Margate beach 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:  www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage

FIFA flop for World Cup?

Ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup are not going as hoped, and increasingly international criticism is being expressed about the costs of attending this premier world sporting event, in respect of ticket prices, the costs of flying to and within South Africa, and the accommodation costs.

German soccer hero and ex-trainer, and FIFA Exco Member Franz Beckenbauer has spoken out about the high ticket prices for the 2010 World Cup, reports the Cape Argus.   Beckenbauer says that few soccer fans can afford the high ticket prices, he allegedly told SkyNews. Of the 21 000 tickets available to follow the German team in playing Australia, Serbia and Ghana in Group D, only 6 700 have been sold, he said.   Travel costs are also deemed to be very expensive.

The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) in the United Kingdom reported this week with a headline “World Cup scramble for Africa fizzles out”, and reflected that fewer German and Dutch tickets have been sold relative to supply.   However, England fans are expected to take up the full allocation of tickets.  To date, 22 479 tickets have been sold to English fans. The article states:”…predictions from the South African organising committee and tourist chiefs that between 40 000 and 50 000 England fans would descend on South Africa as part of a contingent of 450 000 tourists now look over-optimistic. 

Kevin Miles, from the England Football Supporters’ Federation, says it bluntly: “It’s a calculation about the World Cup experience you can get for your restricted funds and a combination of expensive flights, rip-off hotel rates, difficult internal transport, uncertainty about safety and the fact that it is winter.  They all combine to make it a much less attractive proposition”.   The base rate of a tour package from the UK is R 42 000, the Guardian article says.

The Sunday Times yesterday reported that a base package for an England fan flying to and from South Africa, 14 nights accommodation at a 3-star establishment, a ticket for a match each in Rustenburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and travel between soccer match venues will cost R 60 000 as sold by MATCH-accredited tour operators.   A Brazil fan will pay R 90 000 for a return flight, transfers locally, 12 nights’ accommodation and tickets for the first 3 Brazil matches, while a Mexico fan will pay R 105 000 for a 15-day trip, including the return flight, internal transfers, accommodation, and a ticket for the first three Mexico matches.  International soccer fans say that they will not come to South Africa for the World Cup to be ripped off!

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on the FIFA Local Organising Committee to lower the price of tickets.   The Local Organising Committee has countered this request by stating that South Africans are eligible to buy special low-price Category 4 tickets, at R 140 each.   In 2006 the cheapest tickets in Germany were priced at about R 600 each.   FIFA set the dollar/Rand exchange rate at R 7, to avoid price fluctuations – the Rand is not trading far from this level at the moment.

The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, and the FIFA Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan, have cautioned the industry against overpricing.  Yet they have not reprimanded MATCH for its excessive rates for accommodation, transport, and ticket prices, in taking a 30 % commission on top of the already high accommodation costs, as well as commission on all other parts of the packages.  The fact that FIFA CEO Sepp Blatter’s nephew is a shareholder in MATCH clearly compromises them!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com