News

Authorities in the city of Cape Town, South Africa have launched plans to relieve one of the area's top tourist attractions from fears of crime.

Signal Hill attracts more than 1.5 million visitors every year, who enjoy panoramic views of Robben Island, Table Bay and the rest of Cape Town.

For the past four years, the site has been closed to locals and tourists after 21:00, following a number of criminal incidents.

A plan has now been launched involving the city, two private security companies and the Table Mountain national park to extend the area's opening time until 01:00.

Simon Grindrod, Cape Town's mayoral committee member for tourism, said: 'The public and private sector have today sent a strong message that they will not surrender prime tourist attractions to criminal elements.'

The initiative will begin as a pilot project but could lead to the establishment of a 'tourism police' unit, in a similar vein to strategies that are currently used in major travel locations such as Singapore and Cairo.

Opodo is a leading online travel company offering flights, hotels, rental cars and holidays worldwide. Search for travel deals.