The Western Cape Government Minister for Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, and the City's Executive Mayor, Patricia De Lille, will be accompanied by officials from Wesgro, including CEO Tim Harris, which has coordinated the mission.

The joint programme of Minister Winde and Mayor De Lille includes engagements with the film industry to promote the Western Cape as a film destination and specifically to drive more studios to consider the Western Cape as a venue of choice for location-based film and television series production. Included in the itinerary are engagements with Universal Studios and Disney –  both of which already have a presence in Cape Town.

Mayor De Lille said: 'We are determined to let the world know that Cape Town is open for business, so that businesses can invest in our City and create jobs for our people. We have so much to offer to even the best and biggest companies in the world, and we want to give them the reassurance that Cape Town is the place for them operate in. We have great financial services, reliable infrastructure and a talented labour pool, ready and waiting to make their ventures a success. 

'In this case, we are focusing on the tech and film sectors – both huge growth areas for Cape Town. We have approved over 19 000 filming permits and over 30 000 film bookings since 2014 and we are confident that the beneficial exchange rate makes us even more appealing.

'This is part of our investment strategy since 2012 where we promote the City directly. We have done our market research and preparatory work and now we are going to try and get investment by meeting with the industries themselves. This is to try and get foreign capital in the city and create jobs for our residents.'

Minister Winde will also be conducting engagements around increasing business tourism to the Western Cape, including attendance at IMEX America, in collaboration with the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau – a strategic division at Wesgro. This show attracts over 3 100 exhibitors, representing 150 countries, and nearly 11 000 visitors. The Western Cape team will be hosting business-to-business meetings with representatives from the travel trade with an express purpose of attracting large-scale conferences to the destination.

Minister Winde said: 'The United States of America is the world's biggest economy, and an important partner for the Western Cape. We are seeking to strengthen trade and investment links between ourselves and the United States in key areas. We will be focusing on business tourism, film and information and communication technologies. Through Project Khulisa, we are seeking to add up to a further 100 000 jobs to the economy. Growing tourism from key source markets, such as the United States will be important in reaching this goal.'

Minister Winde said North America was a strong and growing source market for tourism to the Western Cape.

'In 2015, arrivals to Cape Town International Airport from North America increased by 16%. The United States is our third top market. Last year, over 162 000 US tourists travelled to the province. We will be seeking to put agreements in place which will allow us to build on this momentum. At IMEX America, we'll present our strong business tourism offering at one of the world's largest trade and buying platforms,' said MEC Winde. 

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