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Western Cape Business 2022

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FOCUS<br />

Save our Beach Huts<br />

A campaign is underway to restore <strong>Cape</strong> Town’s<br />

colourful landmarks.<br />

Credit: A Gorman Photography<br />

The Beach Huts of <strong>Cape</strong> Town have been<br />

around since the late 1800s. Over their lifetime<br />

they have changed significantly, eventually<br />

becoming the colourful huts we see today.<br />

They have always been a feature of our beaches.<br />

These structures have risen to iconic status,<br />

outgrowing their practical usefulness. Their true<br />

value lies in being an instantly recognisable image<br />

and arguably South Africa’s most iconic man-made<br />

structures. They occupy a significant portion of<br />

South Africa’s global brand image. The importance<br />

of this for attracting tourism to our country cannot<br />

be overstated.<br />

Tourism, a large source of foreign direct income,<br />

has an important role to play in alleviating poverty<br />

and creating opportunities for all South Africans.<br />

Tourism is everybody’s business.<br />

The Beach Huts have been falling into disrepair<br />

for some time. A harsh environment, complex<br />

Contact details<br />

The Beach Hut Trust:<br />

Angela Gorman<br />

Mobile: 079 504 1933<br />

Email: info@beachhuts.org.za<br />

municipal structures and more pressing socioeconomic<br />

issues have resulted in the nearcollapse<br />

of this iconic infrastructure. The Beach<br />

Huts are as important to South Africa as the<br />

Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower is to New<br />

York and Paris.<br />

The SAVE OUR BEACH HUTS campaign, run<br />

by The Beach Hut Trust, is a public and private<br />

collaborative initiative. The objectives are to<br />

Preserve, Protect and Promote the Beach Huts,<br />

<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s most iconic structures. To us, they<br />

represent opportunity and hope for South<br />

Africa. To the world, they represent a reason to<br />

travel here.<br />

We aim to create employment, restore an<br />

icon, promote tourism and generate a Beach<br />

Beach Huts-inspired industry that will sustain<br />

them indefinitely. The opportunities are endless<br />

and we are calling on all businesses to see<br />

how they can help support the programme to<br />

#SaveOurBeachHuts. ■<br />

Daniel Blaauw<br />

Mobile: 081 776 6522<br />

Email: info@beachhuts.org.za<br />

39 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2021

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