To capitalise on the growing potential of the tourism economy in the Western Cape, the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) will set up an innovation hub dedicated to promoting development in travel technology.
According to CiTi, the travel tech hub will aim to stimulate innovation in travel technology in the Western Cape and focus on investing in the tourism sector.
The hub, which will be located at the Bandwidth Barn, will also be a space for start-ups, entrepreneurs and developers to establish and support travel tech solutions commercially in the Western Cape and SA.
CiTi CEO Ian Merrington believes travel technology has enormous transformative potential. "The creation of a TravelTech cluster to stimulate development and investment will benefit not only Cape Town but the entire country."
Merrington adds: "We have already seen significant investment in this sector over the last few months and further structured acceleration could see that increase exponentially. The purpose of our innovation clusters is to actively identify, support and stimulate innovation and growth in key sectors that will benefit the greater ecosystem."
Commenting on the launch of the travel tech hub, Maija de Rijk-Uys, MD of go2africa, says: "In the Western Cape alone, there is a lot happening in the travel tech space and yet there seems to be a sense of 'dispersement', rather than an integrated and networked community. Establishing a focused TravelTech cluster will open many additional doors, ranging from business opportunities to mentoring contacts."
Economic advantage
Sometimes referred to as e-travel or e-tourism, travel technology is the implementation and application of IT and e-commerce solutions in the travel and tourism industry.
Globally, the travel and tourism sector generates $7.5 trillion a year, and makes up 9.5% of the global GDP.
Closer to home, in her State of the Province Address, Western Cape premier Helen Zille noted government had identified tourism as part of the set of priority economic sectors with the potential for accelerated growth and job creation.
According to Zille, the tourism sector employs 200 000 people, with a gross value-add of R17 billion to the provincial economy.
Western Cape Parliamentary whip and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Tourism and Agriculture, Beverley Sch"afer, says the tourism sector is a priority job creation area for the province.
"A TravelTech innovation cluster gives us the opportunity to use our regional innovation leadership and competency to further accelerate the growth of business involved in travel and tourism. CiTi has already proved the success of this model with its FinTech cluster," states Sch"afer.
Established in 1998, CiTi is a non-profit organisation made up of citizens and industry stakeholders to develop Cape Town and the region as a global technology cluster and a hub for innovation.
To create linkages between developers, entrepreneurs, innovators and business, CiTi supports industry and entrepreneurs by providing location, skills, job readiness, enterprise development, innovation hubs and tech events, and ensures effective contribution to innovation.
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