Cape Town is looking to cash in on the estimated $220 billion that Muslim travellers are expected to spend by 2020.
Cape Town is home to South Africa’s largest Muslim population and the tourism industry is hoping to use that to their advantage.
“South Africa and specifically Cape Town have never been portrayed as halal friendly,” said the CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Enver Duminy.
“It’s always been sold as a European or Western destination and yet if you look at our history which goes back more than 300 years, the strong Islamic culture has been part of the fundamentals that have grown the city where it is today.”
Around 10 million tourists visited Cape Town last year, drawn by iconic sights like Table Mountain, its long sandy beaches and clutch of nearby wine farms.
Tourism accounted for an estimated nine percent of South Africa’s economic output last year, or $35 billion (412 billion rand).
Crystal Orderson reports from Cape Town.