Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
(a) What is the current status of the Tourism Safety Forum, (b) which stakeholders are represented on the forum broken down by (i) public sector entities, (ii) private sector organisations and (iii) diplomatic or foreign representation, (b)(i) how many meetings have been held since its formation, (ii) what subforums or working groups have been established to deal with area-specific risks and (iii) what are their specific mandates, (c)(i) what coordination mechanisms have been developed through the forum to improve emergency response, communication or intelligence-sharing and (ii) have any protocols or SOPs been finalised, (d) how is his Department tracking the effectiveness of the forum’s coordination efforts and (e) has any feedback been collected from stakeholders regarding the forum’s impact to date?
- A distinction must be made between the National Tourism Safety Forum and the Provincial Tourism Safety Forum. Both forums are active. Responses to questions (b) to (C) relate to the Provincial Tourism Safety Forum.
- (i) Public sector departments/ entities:
- National Department of Tourism
- SANParks
- SAPS
- Department of Health and Wellness
- Department of Oversight and Community Safety
- Department of Local Government – Provincial Disaster Management Centre
- Department of the Premier
- Wesgro
- CapeNature
- Municipalities
- Regional and/ local tourism organisations
(ii) Private sector and non-profit:
- Lifesaving South Africa
- Wilderness Search and Rescue
- Business Against Crime Western Cape
- Cape Town Central City Improvement District
- National Sea and Rescue Institute
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- FEDHASA
- Table Mountain Volunteer Safety Services
- Friends of Table Mountain
(iii) Diplomatic or foreign representation
None. However, diplomatic/ foreign representatives are invited to the annual Season Readiness Dialogue. The Department also has regular bilateral discussions with diplomatic/ foreign representatives. Staff are also in contact with diplomatic staff when incidents occur.
(iv) Four meetings of the Forum have been held since 2021. In addition, three Annual Season Readiness Dialogues have been hosted since 2022.
(v) No formal subforums or working groups have been established to look at specific areas, however, the Department has participated in local tourism safety initiatives, including Safer City, Table Mountain Safety Forum (convened by SAPS), etc. In addition, the Department convenes bi-monthly or quarterly bilateral engagements with organisations such as CapeNature, SANParks, Cape Tourist Guides Association and SATSA, where tourism safety issues are discussed. The Department also collaborates extensively with Cape Town Tourism, which hosts biannual tourism safety meetings involving their members and stakeholders.
(vi) See response to question (v) above.
- (i) One of the main functions of the Forum is to ensure that stakeholders involved in safety and security, disaster management, emergency services and road safety and traffic control can communicate their summer season plans and share risks and trends with the tourism industry. Discussions are structured thematically: wilderness and mountain safety, urban safety, and sea and beach safety. The Department and other tourism stakeholders share and amplify these plans and also refine communications and messaging to warn tourists about risks. Secondly, the Forum also builds relationships so that when localised incidents occur, the relevant stakeholders can quickly activate networks and respond. This process is aided using WhatsApp groups.
(ii) Every year, the Department develops protocols for the peak summer season to guide DEDAT staff on what to do should incidents occur. There is also a Standard Operating Procedure in place for staff of the Tourism Safety Support Programme in terms of responding to tourists in distress.
- The Department has introduced Tourism Safety Forum Debriefing Meetings, conducted after the conclusion of the peak tourism season. These sessions provide an opportunity to reflect on the preceding season, identify challenges encountered, and share lessons learned among stakeholders. The meetings serve as a critical feedback and assessment mechanism to improve planning and coordination for future seasons.
- Not specifically about the Forum, however, the Department conducts wider industry surveys to ascertain stakeholder perceptions of the Department’s Tourism Safety Support Programme. A comprehensive survey of this nature was conducted in 2022, and we hope to repeat this in 2025.
