THE Atlantis Dunes, officially called the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve, should be a showcase of Cape Town’s tourism potential. Instead, it’s become a showcase of how bad governance and bureaucratic stubbornness can strangle small businesses, destroy livelihoods, and embarrass a city that constantly brags about being “pro-tourism.”
For years, sandboarding and quad biking operators have built a thriving adventure economy in the dunes, attracting both international tourists and local families. These operators are registered, vetted, tax-paying businesses. They invest in safety, staff training, and compliance. They are, in short, exactly the kind of small businesses the City claims to support.
And yet, City officials decided the best way to “manage” the dunes was by inventing arbitrary permit caps and outdated rules, using “biodiversity” and “overcrowding” as excuses, while ignoring the…
