We were all very proud when Gansbaai won the Best Responsible tourism award earlier this year.
This award was an acknowledgement of the products and businesses who practise responsible tourism as a way of life. We cannot rest on our laurels and need to ensure that we continue to practise the ethos of responsible tourism at all times.
For this reason Gansbaai Tourism has adopted the “rethink the plastic bag campaign”. There are many heart-breaking photos on the social media platforms of animals and birds in distress because of ingesting plastic bags or being entangled in such. On Friday the 24th of July there was a meeting at the bureau where Hayley McLellan of the Two Oceans Aquarium came to do a presentation on this campaign which is in fact her initiative.
The town of Greyton is the first town in the Western Cape to adopt this and they have done a number of campaigns and Nicky Vernon shared her experiences with the group.
Spar Western Cape has also bought into this campaign and Chrizülene van Niekerk represented our local Spar at this get-together.
Gansbaai Tourism would now like to put a plan of action together to drive the campaign forward.
The idea is certainly not to ban plastic bags outright but rather to have an awareness campaign as to the effects of the plastic bag and then phase them out gradually.
Anyone who feels that they would like to be part of this process can contact the bureau at 028-384-1439 or Caron Lee at 082-749-2409.
Glenda Kitley, Manager: Gansbaai Tourism
