Eco-Tourism has always been seen as an important part of the Western Cape economy – especially over the last decade or so. CapeNature is one of the key custodians of many of the natural assets that have made the Western Cape a destination of choice, both nationally and internationally.
Sustainable utilisation of these assets for naturebased tourism holds potentially enormous benefits for all, including:
- assistance with the funding of further biodiversity conservation work by the revenue generated
- the creation of jobs and SMMEs – around tourism services – would further assist in socio-economic development – especially in the rural landscape
- publicity about our rich biodiversity (our World Heritage Sites etc.) and conservation practices, especially by word-of-mouth, which would further
- enhance the Western Cape’s reputation as a tourist destination of choice
- controlled access to sensitive areas, which would assist in convincing more people of the importance of biodiversity conservation and removing the elitist stigma.
CapeNature, therefore, sees eco-tourism as a key element of the ‘golden triangle’
described in CapeNature’s strategic approach.
