Urban tourism trends that will see you explore the Mother City more

cocoparisienne via pixabay

According to the 2015 Annual Tourism Report, released by South African Tourism, Cape Town's CBD is the most visited attraction in the country. In 2015, 883 000 people visited the area, officially replacing the V&A Waterfront as the most visited place in South Africa.

With such an increase in visitors to the city centre, tourism has evolved accordingly. From finding accommodation and tourist hotspots, to improvements in urban mobility, visitors and residents alike are able to experience the Mother City with ease and convenience.

Accommodation trends

Part of this local tourism evolution is the adoption of global tourism trends, one of these being the global accommodation trend that is on the rise locally - the sleep pod. These cube-like structures are designed to accommodate a mattress and storage space only, maximising limited space and focusing only on what is absolutely necessary. 91 on Loop is Cape Town's first hotel to offer visitors the opportunity to experience this new, affordable and compact sleeping trend.

Image Source: CapeInfo

Another accommodation trend that is growing in popularity amongst urban travellers are more environmentally focused hotels. Currently the only hotel in the world to achieve Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council for their design and construction as well as their operations and maintenance, Hotel Verde based at the Cape Town International Airport, ensures that they are not only energy efficient by having energy-saving heating and cooling systems coupled with ground source heat pumps, but that they save water too. They do this by collecting rainwater in a 40,000l stainless steel tank in their basement, which feeds the drip irrigation system. Plus they have low-flow fittings on all of their taps and showerheads. Another achievement is their 6-star rating from the South African Green Building Council awarded to them in 2015. This ensures their hotel is continually operated with stringent efficiency and sustainability targets.

Urban mobility

Urban travellers to SA also have the opportunity to experience more than just an increase in accommodation innovation. Urban mobility has also become a lot simpler, with the rapid adoption of shared transport services like Uber, and the MyCiti Bus service that provides visitors with the option of travelling around the city while visiting a variety of historic spots such as the Company Gardens.

A more cultural experience that would normally necessitate visitors leaving the city is Tuning the Vine, an inner city wine tour. The route introduces people from all walks of life to some of South Africa's best wines and Cape Town's urban wineries, for example, Signal Hill Winery, while showing off our phenomenal local wines in an urban context.

Yet another way that we are improving our cities, and facilitating the growth of community, is through park(let)s. Originally parking bays, these repurposed spaces provide people with shade, shelter, free WiFi, and all with no obligations. An example of these is the Regent Road Park(let) that has been embraced by the local residents, and most specifically the more marginalised of the community that previously would have nowhere to sit or access free WiFi.

Image Source: Future Cape Town - GAPP architects: Parklet Activation

So, with urban tourism showing no signs of slowing down, the question is - what new and exciting urban innovations can we look forward to in the future?