One of the world’s most anticipated motorsport events the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is descending onto Cape Town’s shores.
On February 25th, 2023, the Main event will be held in the Greenpoint and Waterfront precinct.
South Africa has established itself as the pedigree in hosting large-scale Mega events on the African continent. From the 1995 World Cup, 1996 AFCON, 2003 Cricket World cup, and of course the 2010 Soccer World Cup. These Mega events have shown us the value of bringing tourists to our shores, creating jobs, and imprinting lasting legacies on the tourism economy of South Africa.
SA Tourism is particularly drawn to Formula E not only for its high-level profiling of the destination but also for the values that it holds in so far as growing the green economy. South Africa aims to encourage inclusivity and purposeful transformation by mobilizing sustainable tourism practices. These sustainable tourism practices exist to address pre-existing gaps in managing the socio-economic, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism.
SA Tourism continues to echo the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s call to ‘travel, enjoy and respect’ which is about contributing to sustainable tourism and making the sector a catalyst for positive change. As the 3rd most biodiverse country in the world and 3000Km’s endemic coastline we are surely a bastion of sustainability.
The week’s activities kicked off with the Africa Green Economies Summit taking place at the Century City Convention Centre from the 22nd of February 2023 – 24th February 2023. The Summit’s focus on, three of seven, interdependent green economy pillars; clean transport, renewable energy, and clean technologies, including green hydrogen, will drive a strong foundation of economic value and development. South African Tourism was represented with a Sustainability Village that will look at boosting local economic empowerment and inclusive growth. “The Idea is for South African Tourism to showcase the local arts & culture by enabling patrons with the ability to purchase through a complimentary R500 voucher system that will ensure that they take a piece of Cape Town & South Africa home with them. This is another way of ensuring we tell the South African story.” said South African Tourism Acting CEO Themba Mzilikazi Khumalo.
Raceday, the 25th of February 2023 all eyes and feet will converge onto the Greenpoint & Waterfall precinct for the Formula E Championship festivities. South African Tourism will be forging ahead with its message of sustainable tourism through the E-Village activation. “The UNWTO defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities. It is important because Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them.” Said Khumalo
In The E-Village the +27 eco stand acts as a centre for its attendees to learn more about the exceptional eco-tourism value chain, the people and initiatives involved. The stand allows for attendees to learn about the link between electric motorsport and the eco-tourism value chain which educates and encourages each person to find greener alternatives. The whole stand is built from recycled, repurposed and reusable materials, part of the stand is powered by the solar panel on the roof and will be built from IBR – which is recycled steel. There is also a live wall which is curated from plants that will be used not only as décor, but as plants that will continue to live in the attendees’ gardens once the activation is over. The hostesses dressed in Sindi Khumalo who is a sustainable textile designer based in Cape Town. A Central St Martins graduate, Khumalo, studied architecture at the University of Cape Town prior to moving to London, where she went onto study a master’s in design for Textile Futures. Sindiso Khumalo founded her eponymous label with a focus on creating modern sustainable textiles with a strong emphasis on African story telling.
