Cape Town’s tourism industry has been at the forefront of responsible tourism practices, with Cape Town Tourism signing the Responsible Tourism Charter to support the principles of sustainable development and management of tourism.

Many of Cape Town’s products have won awards for their sustainability efforts. Since 2008, the V&A Waterfront has invested R45 Million into energy efficiency, water savings and waste recycling and in 2014 was awarded prestigious WTM World Responsible Tourism Gold award as Best Destination for Responsible Tourism. In the same year, Hotel Verde, the greenest hotel in Africa, won their own World Responsible Tourism Award for Best City Hotel in the world.

Cape Town continues to offer a variety of unique and interesting responsible tourism experiences and initiatives that allow visitors to give back to the community and the environment whilst having a fantastic time. GreenPop offers tree-planting experiences, ‘adopt’ and sponsor an African penguin at SANCCOB (South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds), or buy functional art from used tea bags made by previously disadvantaged individuals at Original T-Bag designs in Hout Bay.