The Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism will host a five-part weekly webinar series from Thursday, July 30, 2020.
The webinar series is aimed to provide support and advice on opening safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier said the tourism webinar series was one of the numerous initiatives the department implemented to support the tourism sector, which has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the level 3 lockdown restrictions, which in turn jeopardised many jobs in the sector.
Featuring prominent local and international experts from the tourism sector, the tourism webinar series will cover a range of topics.
The first webinar will tackle South Africa's readiness. Destination Readiness (July 30). This webinar will focus on opening safely and the Covid-19 health and safety protocols for tourism businesses developed by industry bodies such as TBCSA, SATSA, FEDHASA and AAVEA.
Exhibitions (August 30) webinar will focus on the future of trade and consumer exhibitions following the global pandemic and economic downturn and what destinations can do to support recovery.
Business Travel (August 13) will focus on international best practice in business travel and opening safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Global Destination Best Practice (August 20) will focus on international best practice to guide plans for a new normal, and ideas on how to pivot to attract visitors when destinations are ready to open.
Lastly, Destination Reputation Management (August 27) will address challenges around destination brand reputation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Tourism is a major contributor to the economy and employment in the Western Cape. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape, we have been engaging actively with the tourism sector to understand the impact of Covid-19 and to work with them to prepare the industry to be able to open safely and responsibly.
" I would like to encourage all interested tourism businesses and organisations to join the tourism webinar series so that we can work together to implement and enforce the necessary health and safety measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19, and ensure our businesses stay open in the Western Cape," said Maynier.
The webinar series follows the launch of Western Cape Government's Tourism Product Development Fund on July 15.
The Tourism Product Development Fund which commits a total of R5-million to support new or existing tourism products and experiences in the province.
The Tourism Product Development Fund is one of the many ways the province aims to support the tourism sector.