South Africa Tourism
Our Story
Cape Capers Tours have been trading since 2003, and was formally established in September 2003.
The company owns three vehicles and in addition to this have access to a large range of vehicles through our network partners in the coach hire business.
We employ between three and five registered freelance driver-guides, and are fully compliant with all legal requirements and are committed to responsible tourism.
Affiliations
We have been affiliated to the following tourism bodies since our inception in 2003:
CTGA- Cape Tourist Guides Association
CTT- Cape Town Tourism
Our Unique Selling Point
Although the business is an independent, Stand alone, enterprise, our core product certainly is not.
Our Township Experience Tour, is structured around initiatives in the Townships. They include mandatory stops and interaction with local people through Community Centers, walking tour conducted by registered community guides, craft markets, taverns, guest houses, schools, health and social services and self-help housing projects.
A contribution from the tour price is made directly to each place visited, and tourists are able to purchase craft, eat at local restaurants and stay at guest houses for a night. Thus by booking with us, the benefits are spread to many other small businesses and individuals on the “other side”. The business was awarded with the “Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur Award” by S.A Tourism on World Tourism Day, 27 September 2004.
Awards
• Tourist Guide of the Year- Presented by the MEC for Tourism- Western Cape, November 2004
• Western Cape Tourist Guide of the Year- Presented by Minister Valli Moosa on International Tourist Guides Day, 23 February 2004
• Best Tourist Guide 2004- Presented by Minister van Schalkwyk on World Tourism Day, 27 September 2004
• South African Representative Sponsorship to attend the World Congress Tourist Guides Association in Melbourne, Australia, January 2005
• Western Cape Tourist Guide of the Year- Presented by Minister Valli Moosa on International Tourist Guides Day, 23 February 2004
• Best Tourist Guide 2004- Presented by Minister van Schalkwyk on World Tourism Day, 27 September 2004
• South African Representative Sponsorship to attend the World Congress Tourist Guides Association in Melbourne, Australia, January 2005
About the Owner
Success Story: Faizal Gangat
“I arrived in a place in my life where I was able to make an independent decision; I opted for tourism, as this would fulfill a lifelong dream of show-casing South Africa to foreign visitors.”
These are the words of Faizal Gangat, when asked why he got into the tourism industry. This vibrant businessman is the owner, general manager, consultant and tour guide of Cape Capers Tours, which is based in Observatory, Cape Town and was initiated in 2001. Faizal is a multi-award winning tourist guide- accolades include Tour Guide of the Year 2003, Best Tour Guide of the Year 2004, Ministerial Award for Excellent Contribution to Tourism 2004- but comes from humble beginnings.
He explains, “I was raised in the tradition of an immigrant Indian family in a small town in the far Eastern Cape.” He grew up close to nature and as a young boy had to work in the family store, milked cows and harvested vegetables from his family’s smallholding.
Anix Consulting got to know the modest tour guide when he was invited by the WC Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in 2003 to participate in the inaugural Tourism Mentorship Programme (TMP). His business was already 3 years old at the time, and he welcomed this opportunity with open arms.
“The fact that well-established mainly white established tourism practitioners were willing to share their knowledge and skills acquired through unfair advantage during the Apartheid years, was for me not just an opportunity to advance my knowledge and make alliances to grow my business, but it was also a moral and healing experience in the realisation that there were (white) people out there who also took this opportunity to contribute to righting the imbalances of the past”, he excitedly exclaims.
The Tourism Mentorship Programme is a method in which previously disadvantaged individuals, who owns small or medium enterprises, are developed in areas such as business skills, to effectively become a competitive player and to identify opportunities for sustainable growth. The model for this programme was designed by Anix Consulting’s own MD, Rhiyaan Cupido in 2003, thereafter expanded successfully to Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Northern Cape.
He supported the Programme by his presence at TMP meetings and functions. It is important to have visibility and presence by the facilitators of projects as it reinsures participants that there is recourse if issues arise between mentors and mentees, he warmheartedly remembers. Faizal was involved with the Programme for two consecutive years (2003 & 2004) and played the role as mentee and mentor. He fondly recalls never to have had bad experiences and remembers it as an exciting time. In fact, his business has flourished since the introduction of TMP.
He says, ”It connected me with a broader world of tourism. I am contracted to three major tour operators where I handle their Cape Town tours and transfers. It (also) gave me insider-knowledge of how the industry is structured and how approaches are to be made, the correct people to talk to and the appropriate platforms to work on.”
Faizal describes himself as an intensely curious person and is an avid reader and researcher on a vast range of topics from engineering to the environment, history to socio-political issues and food to fashion. He is also a multilingual person as he is fluent in English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, siZulu, Gujerathi, Hindi and Urdu.
He encourages other entrepreneurs to become involved in the TMP, and shares this advice, work hard, invest in your business, and find the channels that will lead you to the business that you seek from players in the industry.
Tragically, Mr Faizal Gangat, passed away in June 2016 after a short illness.The business is now owned and managed by his wife Robea Ballo and nephew Moegammad Mosaval.