Continuing her Tourism Tour, in this instance highlighting the diverse tourism offerings of the Cape Winelands District and the economic opportunities they bring, Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger visited Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
“The Cape Winelands district is breathtakingly beautiful, which is why it is so popular with domestic and foreign tourists alike, who come to enjoy the rich heritage, outdoor activities, scenic drives and wine tasting on offer,” she said.
“It has been so wonderful to hear from all the tourism spots I have visited so far, that they are all expecting a bumper summer season, especially since we will receive 24 direct flights to Cape Town from the UK and a further 13 per week direct from the US.”
Accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of Stellenbosch, Jeremy Fasser, the Stellenbosch MMC for Local Economic Development and Tourism, Lizette Du Toit, Stellenbosch MMC for Financial Services, Peter Johnston and Cape Winelands District MMC for Economic Development, Koos Steyn, Wenger began at Amazink in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch, South Africa’s first township dinner theatre.
There the delegation saw a presentation on the Visit Stellenbosch enterprise development programme, which includes three projects: the Township and Village (T&V) social enterprise, Ida’s Valley Community Trails and Bag4bread.
T&V, established in 2018 to bring about sustainable local economic development in Stellenbosch, is focused on activating community tourism and providing formal market access. Through the programme 17 tourism products have been developed and activated in local communities.
Said Wenger: “I applaud the economic development work of Visit Stellenbosch [VS] in the local tourism sector. It was great to meet some of the local tourism entrepreneurs, such as the women of Bags4Bread who produce custom-made upcycled conference items. I especially loved Amazink, which has a fantastic vibe and is a wonderful example of community tourism.”
“It was a great honour to accompany Minister Wenger on her tour of our beautiful Valley.” said Fasser. “Our region relies heavily on business and leisure tourism to create and sustain jobs. Many of our local businesses, from small businesses to well established wineries, entrepreneurships to large companies and restaurants to guest houses were hard hit during the pandemic. It is wonderful to see the recovery and revival of our tourism sector.
“Stellenbosch and our surrounding towns have all the qualities needed to make us a destination of choice – spectacular landscapes, top-end facilities, a vast choice of excellent accommodation, easy accessibility, and a plethora of activities. We truly are a destination of choice. As a municipality, we see the value in tourism and the opportunities it unlocks for all our communities.”
Jeanneret Momberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch, added: “One cannot think of Stellenbosch as a town without tourism because our economy is so intricately linked to tourism; up to 40% of Stellenbosch’s economy is directly or indirectly linked to tourism. Consequently, our efforts in the past few years to bring the full tourism eco-system together under the umbrella of Visit Stellenbosch, from wine to activities, accommodation to conferencing, has not only created a powerful foundation on which to promote destination Stellenbosch and its incredible diversity and depth of experience, it has also fuelled so many innovative initiatives to boost the town’s economy and create jobs.”
The minister visited Franschhoek afterwards to celebrate the town being named one of the top 50 places of the world by Time magazine and had the opportunity to ride the iconic Wine Tram, which has previously welcomed more than 1000 passengers daily during peak season. The tram currently offers several different experiences, such as the Hop-on Hop-off Experience allowing guests to visit a collection of the 26 wineries the tram services, at their own pace.
“I was truly inspired by Mr Siguqa’s story of growing up in the region as a son of a farmworker,” Wenger said, “and his journey to becoming owner of Klein Goederust. His remarkable story is one that we need to replicate across the province and country.”
