Indaba 2012, a platform to promote CT Tourism

The Three City Tourism Alliance sees Cape Town Tourism, Durban Tourism and Johannesburg Tourism putting their combined resources into a national partnership which markets their respective city tourism offering. The partnership introduces a new era for collaboration on events and trade shows, domestic and international marketing campaigns, information dissemination, collateral and online campaigns, as well as shared knowledge on an executive level.

Partnerships will maximise potential

An event coordinated by South African Tourism to be held on Sunday, 13 May, at Maxis Cultural Village in Umlazi, will see an update on the progress made on this partnership over the last year and the official signing of the agreement by the three cities' tourism organisations. A delegation from Cape Town will be attending Indaba 2012 from 12 - 15 May and exhibiting on the Western Cape Pavilion at the Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.

"Partnerships in tourism are key to maximising our potential as both a national and urban destination," says CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold. "It is pointless pitting ourselves against one another when the majority of international and local travellers happily bounce between each of our destinations, uncovering their various charms and dipping into their different offerings. By working together we can strengthen our knowledge base and avoid duplication, and we can also combine our financial resources to package South Africa's urban offering in a way that differentiates us from our competitors and is focused on the markets we are targeting."

Heritage is a resource for tourism

The City of Cape Town will be hosting the 2012 Cities at Indaba Workshop; a tourism development platform for practitioners and officials, which has taken place at Indaba in Durban since 2009. This year's theme focuses on heritage as a resource for tourism and takes place at the Olwandle Suite and Hotels on Sunday, 13 May 2012. The Cities at Indaba Workshop 2012 will engage thought leaders on the significance of heritage products in growing Cape Town's diverse tourism product offering. Inspirational speakers on this topic will represent heritage and tourism practitioners from across the country.

Councillor Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing concludes: "Tourism remains a major economic driver for Cape Town and Indaba is the most important national showcase of our diverse tourism offering. Cape Town has always had an alluring offering of culture, nature and heritage and we are looking forward to bringing this mix to Indaba 2012."