Wesgro, the Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape has appointed a new Chief Tourism Officer – Margie Whitehouse.
Margie will lead the DMO from 1 March 2020 and comes with a wealth of tourism experience, having been at the helm of the marketing team at South Africa Tourism as CMO for over three years. Margie has a diverse background encompassing FMCG, retail and fashion, all with a focus on building great brands. Having spent the last year working on the exciting Red Sea Development Project in the Middle East, it is her passion for building South Africa that brings her back.
David Maynier, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, said: “We welcome Margie to the Wesgro team. I’m confident her wealth of experience will be invaluable as we continue to promote Cape Town and the Western Cape as a top destination for investment and tourism.”
Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, said: “Our City has so much to offer, for everyone no matter what you are looking for. We have vast cultural and heritage diversity and this gives us the opportunity to take a new immersive approach to cultural tourism and give tourists even more to explore. By focusing on creating more community-based offerings, while promoting the already impressive sites and attractions we have in Cape Town, we can make tourism a game-changer for our city. I therefore welcome the appointment of Margie at Wesgro and trust she brings her significant experience and positively contributes to our efforts to increase tourism and the related spin-offs”.
Adding to this Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, said: “Margie will bring a wide range of expertise to the promotion of the sector. She will continue the work of driving geographic spread, in particular in the winter months, taking our depth and breadth of experiences in all regions of the Western Cape to the rest of the world. Margie’s connectivity will also ensure the collaboration between the national, provincial, and local government as well as the tourism industry”.
As the provincial tourism body, the DMO works with a large number of public and private sector partners in the promotion of Cape Town and the surrounding five regions of the Western Cape; the Cape Overberg, the Cape West Coast, the Garden Route & Klein Karoo, the Cape Karoo, and the Cape Winelands.
For more, contact info@wesgro.co.za