5 Reasons why you shouldn’t be concerned when visiting Cape Town in 2018

Cape Town residents were warned in February 2018 that if they didn’t drastically cut their water consumption, household taps would be switched off and they’d have to collect a daily allocation of water from shared distribution points around the city. A date was set in April that was soon nicknamed ‘Day Zero’.

The announcement had a negative effect on tourism, unsurprisingly – holidaymakers were concerned that not only could their visit potentially take place during a time of a crisis but that their very presence would be hindering, and not helping, water conservation efforts.

There’s no cause for alarm, though: ‘Day Zero’ has now been postponed to 2019 – if it happens at all.

This is partly due to fantastic efforts by locals to reduce their water use and also to some good rains, with the bulk of the city’s annual rainfall predicted to be above average this year according to Reuters. In addition, the construction of several desalination plants has been completed or speeded up and aquifers are being drilled into three separate areas of the city.

All this means that tourists can be reassured that their visit will be largely unaffected by the drought and that in fact their presence is a positive for the city’s economy.

Further to this, Capsol Luxury Villas & Apartments have put together a comprehensive list of Water Wise properties that have their own water provisions, so we have you covered no matter what happens.

Here are our five reasons why you should still come and visit our lovely city:

1. Tourism is a major part of the city’s economy – it brings in R40 billion a year. A loss of revenue will hit the poorest hardest – there has already been a hit to the agriculture industry and seasonal farm workers have been laid off; cuts to the tourism industry will cause unemployment, which is already at 22%, to rise further. Cape Town needs visitors to keep coming.

2. Water usage by tourists accounts for only about one percent of daily water consumption, a negligible amount in the overall scheme of things. You can help be a part of the solution, too. A Water Offset Tool has just been released that allows you to calculate your water usage during your stay and offset it by donating money to local water conservation projects. These include a project to remove alien invasive plant species that use billions of litres of water and a campaign to save water at schools through the installation of a water monitoring device.

3. Your stay won’t be severely affected. Yes, bed linen and towel changes will happen weekly rather than every three days and you’ll need to be mindful of how much water you use, but most of the swimming pools still sparkle – as they are being topped up with ethically purchased water. You can enjoy the dramatic scenery, incredible wildlife and world-class restaurants that Cape Town is famous for – all at a fraction of the price of European destinations.

4. We have several gorgeous properties with their own water provisions. 26 on First in Camps Bay, for example, has water tanks that supply filtered water to the house, as does Ivory Sands in Clifton. Or how about Villa Stanleon in Bantry Bay – it has its own borehole and a desalinator plumbed into the house. All offer the high standards you’d expect from a Capsol villa!

5. Cape Town’s water crisis has something to teach the world. Unfortunately, water shortages are part of a global trend – according to a recent report by the UN. 3.6 billion people, or almost half the world’s population, live in potentially water-scarce areas, and other cities at risk include Sao Paulo and Melbourne. Cape Town has been a warning to other cities but is also showing the world what water resilience looks like. Any visitor will leave with a renewed respect for a precious resource that all too many people waste carelessly – and will pass this onto their friends and families.