City of Cape Town welcomes end to disastrous requirement for tourists to carry unabridged birth certificates

11 November 2019

As the City of Cape Town gears up to welcome millions of tourists for the festive season, I welcome the official scrapping of the requirement for foreign visitors to carry unabridged birth certificates when traveling with minors.

One of the City's main objectives is to facilitate sustainable job creation. Tourism accounts for roughly 300 000 jobs in our city. This sector has great potential to increase growth and create jobs. We are ready to take tourism to the next level for the benefit of the people of Cape Town.

Now that the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, has signed the directive that removes the requirement for parents to carry unabridged birth certificates, or consent letters when travelling with their children, Cape Town should be the top holiday destination of choice for foreign tourists.

Cape Town has so much to offer and I am proud to say that there is more on offer than ever before. I would also like to encourage other South Africans to experience and explore the beautiful Mother City.

Recently, the City of Cape Town’s Draft Tourism Development Framework (TDF) was adopted by Council. I am very proud of this exciting framework and have been working on it since I was appointed almost a year ago.

Cape Town has so much to offer tourists, especially due to our vast cultural and heritage diversity.

My immediate priority is to ensure the effective implementation of the TDF so that we boost cultural experiences and help diversify tourism products.

Working with my directorate, I intend increasing the already impressive number of tourists from South Africa and other countries so that we create more jobs and make tourism a game-changer for our city.

Issued by James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, City of Cape Town, 11 November 2019