With preparations for the summer tourism season underway, the Western Cape province will - for the first time ever - have more than one million in-bound international seats, breaking the record for travellers during the festive season.

"Looking ahead, Cape Town International Airport's seat capacity for summer 2023/24 is estimated to increase by an impressive 25%, compared to the same period last year. This means that inbound international seats this summer will exceed 1 million, for the first time ever," the MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said on Sunday.

She said the province is pleased with the significant progress made over the past year in bringing the private and public sectors together to implement practical solutions to combat and pre-empt safety risks for visitors.

"Over the 2023/24 season, 250 tourism monitors will be deployed across the Western Cape to identified hotspots, and will be trained and equipped with mobile apps to link them to critical security services," she said.

In addition, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and Cape Town Tourism will implement tourist-in-distress programmes, which ensure that visitors have professional support available when they most need it.

"I am also pleased that the Department of Tourism has secured a commitment from South African Police Service (SAPS) that police reservists will be available during the summer season to assist with tourism safety," she said.

The MEC said work is being prioritised to ensure a successful upcoming season, as well as future seasons.

"At the top of my list is making it as easy as possible for international visitors to holiday in the Western Cape and South Africa. I am determined to work with our national government partners to fix the inefficiencies. I therefore welcome the commitment from the Department of Home Affairs that the long overdue Remote or Digital Nomad Visa will be live by the end of March 2024," Wenger said.