Cape Town, with its 307 km long coastline, 72 beaches, vast parks and nature reserves will bustle with recreational, adventure and leisure out- and indoor activities during the next two months.

The City last year received some 7 million visitors, of which about 1,5 million were overseas tourists and 5,5 million were local visitors. The revenue flowing into the City economy amounted to an estimated R9,2 billion.

Cape Town Executive Mayor, Alderman Nomaindia Mfeketo, says the City is pulling out all stops to ensure a safe, clean and enjoyable experience for all visitors and residents during the festive season.

"We extend a warm welcome to all visitors and wish to reassure them that the City will do its utmost to enhance their comfort and safety. At the same time, we appeal to visitors and residents to play their part in helping us keep the City clean and safe during the holiday period for all to have an enjoyable time.

"As a preferred tourist destination, this caring City has a priority committee working continuously throughout the year to ensure safe and fun holiday seasons and to deal with the additional demands placed on the City infrastructure," she says.

For the peak season, the following special measures have been put in place to ensure safety, cleanliness and ongoing service:

* The City's Disaster Management Team is on full alert and geared for all eventualities. The public may report any emergency, and life or property threatening situations (including medical, crime, fire and traffic) to the 107 emergency number from any Telkom line. Cellphone users need to dial (021) 480-7700.

* Cape Town is on high alert for the fire hazards associated with its dry summer and has 230 full-time fire-fighters at 27 fire stations on standby across the City as well as four aircraft (water bombers). These teams will be assisted by an additional 54 seasonal fire-fighters and 35 reservists.

* Over 1 500 uniformed staff from the Cape Town Metro Police Department (MPD) will be on duty over the festive season.

* Some 400 of the MPD members will be out in full force at high volume traffic areas in the metropolitan area. Working closely with provincial traffic officers, they will focus on accident prevention, managing traffic congestion and compliance to road safety measures.

* About 250 other MPD officials will also assist in patrolling beaches and popular tourist venues. In areas such as Cape Town's City Bowl and other Central Business Districts (CBD's) such as Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and the V&A Waterfront.

* The policing initiatives will be focused on high visibility with a strong community policing element. This includes visibility at swimming pools, partnerships with other agencies such as the city improvement districts and displaced persons support, in line with the City's overall strategies and co-operation with other safety campaigns.

* The City has a formal partnership with Western Province Lifesaving who will be on duty on main beaches. In addition to the existing lifesaving clubs, the City has appointed a further 150 professional lifeguards to serve major beaches.

* There are 18 visitor information centers spread throughout the City and operated by Cape Town Tourism. The V & A Gateway visitor information centre is open every day of the year from 09:00 - 21:00. The other offices are open from 08:00 - 18:30.

* The City has allocated an additional R640 000 for safety measures to be deployed in tourism areas such as Table Mountain and Signal Hill. Special safety meetings are also taking place where the City plays a major role.

* Nearly R14 million has been set aside for the cleansing team. There will be no interruption in refuse removal (even on public holidays). An additional 502 top up cleaners, extra trucks and disposal teams have been appointed.

(Source: Cape Business News 24 Nov 2005)

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