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Responsible Tourism takes centre stage in South Africa
OPINION PIECE - Wahida Parker Managing Director: Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company
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The global travel and tourism industry has contributed significantly towards global economic growth over the years. This all changed when the outbreak of Covid-19 brought the world to a standstill and the tourism market to its knees – as one of the worst affected of all major economic sectors.
As the world takes steps to recover, it will be necessary for the South African tourism sector to empower and build local tourism, as well as to ensure that the pillars of sustainable travel and innovative recovery measures are in place.
For some time now, the awareness of responsible travel has been increasing. The current crisis has forced us towards adopting a more accountable, sustainable way of travelling that minimises carbon emissions, protects the environment, instils good hygiene practice, focuses on visitor safety and maximises the contribution to local economies.
Since 1929, the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC) has safely transported visitors over 700 meters along its iconic cableways to the lofty peak of this sacred symbolic site, deeply emblematic of South Africa, her people, her history, and her flora and fauna.
The level of stewardship with which TMACC has nurtured the mountain is in full compliance with international ISO health and safety, and environmental management standards, for which it has garnered numerous accolades over the years.
We continue to build a reputation that is focused on best practice - ultimately ensuring that our visitors enjoy a world-class experience. As a responsible operator, it is important for us to keep a careful approach to operations, specifically in the social and physical environments that are the backbone of our establishment.
In many ways the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragile scaffolding that holds modern human society together. As the tourism sector is gradually allowed to reopen, we are faced with the tremendous responsibility of strengthening the long-term durability of our operations in this now tenuous environment. During the lockdown period, we developed stringent recovery support measures and safety protocols for the planned re-opening of operations, including the launch of a hiker safety service in July. There is ongoing communication to staff, suppliers and visitors focusing on health and safety, along with reinforcing our commitment to social and environmental sustainability.
Throughout the national lockdown period, we have been engaging the relevant industry bodies to ensure that we meet the necessary health and safety standards as well as implement the measures that will protect our staff and visitors ahead of the re-opening of the cableway.
We are considering new ways of operating that will amplify our safety precaution efforts, such as the online purchasing of tickets, which will provide a contactless and cashless service for visitors wishing to experience the cableway.
It is important that the intrinsic symbiosis between tourism and conservation is recognised. In an effort to protect the mountain, TMACC formed a partnership with SANParks. Through this we aim at improving the safety and security of tourists and hikers on the mountain.
We believe that our path toward continued financial prosperity must always be underpinned by social and environmental justice. The tourism industry contributes to carbon emissions that affect the natural environment, but the income it generates also affords conservationists the resources they need to effectively protect precious and sensitive ecosystem areas like Table Mountain, which would not otherwise be possible.
TMACC was awarded the African Responsible Tourism Award in 2019, which recognised our efforts as a responsible tourism operator to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impacts of tourism. We achieved this through implementing effective means of processes, operations and communication to encourage responsible behaviour by our staff and our visitors.
In a post Covid-19 world, consumers will be more conscious of their footprint on the environment. Our mission is to keep this natural wonder accessible to all who wish to
experience it, while also taking every available step to nurture its precious habitats, so that its splendor will continue to be an inspiration for many generations to come.
As a leader in the tourism industry, we realise that now more than ever, we need to increase our collaborative efforts to establish partnerships with local businesses to help support the local economy. This approach includes the introduction of more local suppliers, manufacturers and other service providers into our macro environment to create sustainable communities.
We celebrate the rich tapestry of people, cultures and voices that constitute our organisation. Over the years, TMACC has consistently applied its philosophy of improvement – putting in more than what we take out. Each staff member is empowered through knowledge sharing and training initiatives. Furthermore, we continue to grant extensive bursaries to our employees to acquire tertiary qualifications, allowing them to up-skill along their chosen career paths.
It is time to bring about change within this dynamic sector. This can be achieved whilst still protecting the livelihoods of those employed in the industry, all while continuing to create sustainable environments for tourists and employees respectively.
The tourism sector has always held a fair amount of power and influence across many sectors, and as they say with great power comes great responsibility. The challenging times that we face as an industry has presented us with plenty of opportunity for innovation that will ultimately improve the travel experience for many of us.
TABLE MOUNTAIN Clearing the clutter of a national icon
Table Mountain stands as one of the proudest icons of South Africa, with the cable way transporting over one million locals and tourists to its summit every year. An unfortunate consequence linked to masses of people visiting the mountain, is the amount of waste that comes with it - in the form of plastic bottles, food packaging, paper tickets and more. This can deal a devastating blow to the 1460 species of plants living here, as well as the multitude of fauna who call this beautiful craggy mass home.
“As proud South Africans, we need to come together and put in the necessary work required to reduce the amount of waste on Table Mountain, in order to safeguard our country’s pride and heritage,” says Wahida Parker, Managing Director of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC).
It’s a hefty task, but they’ve proven their eco-abilities before.
TMACC was recognised for ‘Best Resource Management in Waste’ at the 2019 African Responsible Tourism Awards, by adhering to the United Nations Principles on Responsible Tourism. Their current waste plan has reduced the amount of waste on the site by 40% and that figure is still on the rise.
Currently, this historic landscape recycles approximately 55% of the waste produced by its visitors. By the year 2021, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway plans to expand that to 80%.
“We take this issue very seriously and will continue to work together on creating the best possible methods to deal with waste disposal. We are certain we can reach our goal to recycle 80% of all waste on Table Mountain within the next two years,” explains Parker.
The Cableway’s current recycling initiatives include allocating more recycling bins at both the Upper and Lower stations, ensuring all beverage and food outlets use compostable cutlery components, and fitting special tanks to the cable cars in order to transport wastewater down to the lower system, where it is drained into a municipal sewer system. “To safeguard the future of our environment, we will need to work together to make sure Table Mountain is kept green and clean,” says Parker.
This refers to everyone’s responsibility in the conservation of ecology and biodiversity, the preservation of water, and awareness of what creates a healthy environment.
“Our city can boast being recognised as one of the most beautiful locations in the world, along with offering incredible experiences to every tourist visiting Cape Town. Our role as ambassadors is to ensure anyone who walks along the summit of the mountain is left with a feeling of wonder and delight, and respect for efforts that are made to protect our mountain,” Parker concludes.
