Tourism deal a soccer boost
2007-04-25
THE bid by the Drakenstein Municipality to host a base camp in Paarl for team participating in the 2010 Fifa World Cup, received a boost when the Municipality signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) in Paarl last Wednesday.
The agreement comes in the wake of the launch of the bid last week where various stakeholders, including Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool and regional football administrators, backed the Municipality’s initiative.
The deal between the two parties includes undertaking joint marketing and promotion initiatives to boost the Drakenstein Municipality’s World Cup 2010 base Camp Bid, Tourism Route development, destination access, tourism investment, tourism safety, business tourism and branding and marketing.
“This agreement helps us get closer to the point of completing our 2010 World Cup picture,” said Charmaine Manuel just before retiring as mayor of Drakenstein.
”We have boldly taken the initiative to bid for a base camp within our municipal area.
“Developments such as this agreement are a major boost, especially when you look at the sustainability of the tourism drive beyond 2010,” said Councillor Arthob Petersen, chairperson of the management team for the bid.
“After the Council distributed our Paarl 2010 Bid Book to various stakeholders, we were inundated with proposals to help meet the demands of the World Cup phenomenon and beyond, particularly when it came to accommodation and property development.”
The proposals included a developer keen to build a R350-million, 100-room hotel on a piece of land they already owned; a top local golf estate intending to add a R100-million five or six-star hotel to its existing property; a local group of entrepreneurs planning a development at the privately-owned section of Boland cricket grounds including a hotel, and further developing the Boland Cricket Stadium into a sport showcase; and a major developer planning a multi-million rand development along the picturesque Berg River.
“The key around all these proposals was the question of tourism sustainability beyond 2010. Now this agreement with the Cape Town Routes Unlimited is the obvious answer,” said Dr Sidima Kabanyane, Municipal Manager of Drakenstein.
“I believe we made a good move when we approached the CTRU for a partnership.
"We are proud to be the first municipality in the Western Cape to conclude a working agreement with the CTRU, to work together in developing the tourism potential of the largest municipality (after Cape Town) in the Western Cape.”
“When we put together this agreement with Drakenstein we were guided by the provisions of the Western Cape Tourism Act of 2004, and recognised the relationship between the CTRU and the Cape Winelands District Municipality in the context of the Integrated Development Plan of the council,” added Calvyn Gilfellan, acting CEO of CTRU.
Besides the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein Municipality is the first Local Authority to enter into a tourism marketing agreement with the official Destination Marketing Organisation for Cape Town in the Western Cape.
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