(20.10.2011)
Cape Town’s Blue Flag Marina Programme signals a first for South Africa marinas
The City of Cape Town launched its Blue Flag Marina Programme during a special ceremony at the Royal Cape Yacht Club today, 14 October 2011. There are currently no Blue Flag marinas in South Africa and Cape Town is the first city to take up this challenge.
After approaching 15 yacht clubs and marinas in Cape Town, three agreed to join the programme and – with the support of the City – applied for pilot status in 2011. They are False Bay Yacht Club, Granger Bay Water Club and Royal Cape Yacht Club.
With continued support from the City, these three marinas will work towards complying with all 24 criteria set by Blue Flag International and apply for full status by 15 June 2012. This includes each marina running three environmental education programmes, which will be supported through the City’s Youth Environmental School (YES) programme. The outcome will be known by the end of October 2012.
Having Blue Flag Beaches and Marinas is a significant tourism draw card because international visitors know what to expect when visiting a Blue Flag beach or marina. The programme challenges local authorities, beach operators and yacht and marina management to achieve high standards in environmental management, environmental education, safety and security and water quality.
“The Blue Flag Programme provides a quality holiday experience for local and international tourists visiting South Africa, and Cape Town in particular. It is also about enabling local communities to enjoy a better quality of life through increased socio-economic benefits and improved natural resource management. The Blue Flag brand adds value to Cape Town’s Responsible Tourism offerings and supports the implementation of the City’s Responsible Tourism Policy. One of the key elements of Responsible Tourism is the development, management and marketing of tourism in ways that create competitive advantages, and the Blue Flag Programme for marinas could only benefit and help to sell Cape Town as a world-class destination,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Alderman Belinda Walker.
Blue Flag marinas also help to ensure better business opportunities for tourism enterprises, while also promoting economic development in the boat-building industry, thus creating job opportunities.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism for the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, is supportive of the programme and the City looks forward to working with the Provincial Government in the future. It is envisaged that, in time, the programme will include yacht clubs and marinas outside the city, such as Mykonos Yacht Club and Marina in Langebaan and SA Yachtport Marina in Saldanha.
The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmen, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education.
FEE is an international umbrella organisation with one national member organisation per country representing FEE on the national level and in charge of implementing FEE programmes nationally. FEE currently has 74 member organisations in 64 countries worldwide.
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