A start-up in Cape Town is offering city tours in 3G Wi-Fi equipped cars, enabling visitors to upload photos to social media as soon as they take them.
Connected on the Cape —
A start-up in Cape Town is offering city tours in 3G Wi-Fi equipped cars, enabling visitors to upload photos to social media as soon as they take them.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Named "Escape to the Cape," the company is the brainchild of the 37-year-old former banker Shaheed Ebrahim, who got the idea after using iPads to entertain his young children on sightseeing trips.
Career change —
Named "Escape to the Cape," the company is the brainchild of the 37-year-old former banker Shaheed Ebrahim, who got the idea after using iPads to entertain his young children on sightseeing trips.
Courtesy Escape to the Cape
He decided to leave the corporate world after his bank wanted him to relocate, and used the payout from his job to start a new venture as a tour guide. Seen here is the view of Hout Bay Harbor from the Chapman's peak road on the outskirts of Cape Town, one of the stops on Escape to the Cape tour.
New frontiers —
He decided to leave the corporate world after his bank wanted him to relocate, and used the payout from his job to start a new venture as a tour guide. Seen here is the view of Hout Bay Harbor from the Chapman's peak road on the outskirts of Cape Town, one of the stops on Escape to the Cape tour.
GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images
According to the national statistical service of South Africa, tourism was worth nearly $9 billion and provided around 4.6% of the country's employment in 2012, which makes competition among tour operators stiff. Ebrahim soon realized that apart from taking his clients to beauty spots like the 12 Apostles mountain range, pictured, he needed to offer a service that would make him stand out from the crowd.
Lucrative industry —
According to the national statistical service of South Africa, tourism was worth nearly $9 billion and provided around 4.6% of the country's employment in 2012, which makes competition among tour operators stiff. Ebrahim soon realized that apart from taking his clients to beauty spots like the 12 Apostles mountain range, pictured, he needed to offer a service that would make him stand out from the crowd.
David Rogers/Getty Images
"We live in the technology age where people expect to exchange information instantly," says Ebrahim about his reasoning for creating a tour where visitors can go online while being driven to the next destination. Seen here is the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town, famous for its colorful houses.
Instant gratification —
"We live in the technology age where people expect to exchange information instantly," says Ebrahim about his reasoning for creating a tour where visitors can go online while being driven to the next destination. Seen here is the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town, famous for its colorful houses.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
The tour offers plenty of photo opportunities, such as a visit to penguin and sea lion colonies.
Stunning vistas —
The tour offers plenty of photo opportunities, such as a visit to penguin and sea lion colonies.
GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Another stop is the Cape Point, a World Heritage Site whose 200 meter high sheer cliffs cut deep into the mixing waters of Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Epic landscape —
Another stop is the Cape Point, a World Heritage Site whose 200 meter high sheer cliffs cut deep into the mixing waters of Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Ebrahim's efforts won him the 2012 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and he is thinking of expanding his operations to other regions: "We have a transferable concept and there is no reason why it couldn't work in other countries too," he says.
Award-winning —
Ebrahim's efforts won him the 2012 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and he is thinking of expanding his operations to other regions: "We have a transferable concept and there is no reason why it couldn't work in other countries too," he says.
Courtesy Escape to the Cape
The tour also visits some of South Africa's famous vineyards, such as the one in Stellenbosch, pictured.
Wine country —
The tour also visits some of South Africa's famous vineyards, such as the one in Stellenbosch, pictured.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)