American tourist receiving support after being robbed and shot in the face in Cape Town

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cape Town Tourism said an American tourist who was attacked and robbed in the mother city is receiving support as he recovers in hospital.

The 55-year-old man landed in the mother city on Friday and was set to visit friends in Cape Town when the incident happened.

It is understood the man got off the plane, exchanged currency at Cape Town International Airport, rented a car, and ended up in Nyanga, where he was shot in the face and robbed.

Appreciation

Enver Duminy told 702, the man has expressed appreciation to the people who assisted him during the attack and robbery.

“That’s the culture of our destination is that we have people that really care and unfortunately criminals is making a bad mark on a very good experience for so many tourists, and we mustn’t forget the impact crime is having on actual citizens.

It’s alleged that the man used a map application on his Apple iPhone to get to his rental accommodation in Simons Town. But he was directed through a township to get to his destination.

Tourism

Duminy added that he and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis also met with the managing director of Google South Africa to discuss options the city can implement in an effort to balance the safety of tourists and to identify hotspot areas and data points where there are high crime incidents.

“Also to make sure we do not label communities as being unsafe. So, we need to find a good balance between alerting visitors to safe areas and making sure that the communities are not affected by  unfortunate incidents and that the mapping is done in a way to ensure that people are using safer routes.”

Crime

Duminy said tourists bring revenue to the country and create job opportunities

“This is what the criminals are taking away from all of us, not just from tourists… This is not only unique to Cape Town. Even in my conversation with Google South Africa, they’re saying these things are happening all over the world and therefore they are looking at a global solution.”

Duminy said his team is in constant contact with Saps and will also be at the Cape Town International Airport working with the vehicle rental agencies to see that solutions can be introduced to alert tourists without alarming them.