Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa’s Western Cape province surrounded by the picturesque vineyards of the Cape Wineland and the mountainous nature reserves of Joenkershoek and Simonsberg, a popular tourist destination also due to its history as South Africa's second oldest town, established in 1679 by Governor Simon van del Stel after Cape Town, through Visit Stellenbosch, in partnership with the Stellenbosch Improvement and Transformation Initiative (SITI) Special Rating area, has launched and expanded the Tourist Assistants Programme to enhance on - street visitor support and create local jobs.
Announced on 19th November 2025, the Tourism Assistants Programme, is a youth - focused initiative aims to train local youth as ambassador, enhancing visitor experience with guidance, safety, and local knowledge while creating employment and fostering community pride.
These trained youn people offer on - street support, aiming for regenerative tourism that strengthens the community, echoing successful collaborations like the “Rent a Cop” program that aims to provide visible policing/security in high risk areas, often by funding extra patrols or supplementing existing municipal police services for specific zone or events, effectively “renting” extra security presence for community and tourists safety and fitting into Stellenbosch’s broader goal of inclusive, sustainable economic growth through tourism.
As initial cohort of 10 assistant, including two from the Pinotage Youth Development Academy and 8 trainees who completed training on 23rd October 2025 at Bergzicht Training Centre, form the team that is now deployed.
Key Aspects of the Tourist Assistants Programme:
• Youth Empowerment: Transforms talented local youth into skiled ambassadors, providing them with valuable tourism experience and ownership.
• Enhanced Visitor Experience: Assistants guide, inform, and ensure a safe, authentic, and memorable visit for tourists.
• Regenerative Tourism: Aims to make tourism a force for positive community development, leaving places stronger and more connected.
• Community and Government Collaboration: A joint effort between Visit Stellenbosch, the Stellenbosch Improvement and Transformation (SITI) and the Municipality.
• Job Creation: Creates tangible pathways for young people in Stellenbosch’s key economic driver, tourism, say reports from Visit Stellenbosch and Cape Winelands .
Organisers say the model builds community pride while improving the quality of the visitor journey in one of the Western cape’s key tourism hubs.
Link
https://atta.travel/resource/stellenbosch-launches-youth-programme-for-visitor-experience.html
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