The City of Cape Town has restricted large tour buses with 36 seats or more from entering Bo-Kaap via Upper Wale Street, aiming to ease congestion and protect the neighbourhood’s cultural fabric. Established in April 2025, this regulation directs smaller buses to a drop-off point outside the Bo-Kaap Museum with parking behind the Schotsche Kloof Civic Centre on Yusuf Drive.
Despite these measures, residents and tour operators continue to report issues with uncontrolled tourism in Bo-Kaap, including traffic jams, noise disturbances, and intrusions on privacy that affect the area’s residential character. An unnamed local resident told Atlantic Sun that “the buses still come into our area, and these bus loads of people walk our streets. Some of them are disrespectful, and we cannot police this.”
Councillor Francine Higham of Ward 77 echoed concerns about balancing tourism and community needs, stating, “Tourism can contribute positively to Cape Town, but it must not come at the expense of the people who live here.” Patricia de Lille, South Africa’s Tourism Minister, also emphasised the importance of managing visitors respectfully. She said, “People were taking pictures of them outside of their homes. Tourists must be managed in a way that they don’t interfere with their privacy.”
Bo-Kaap has been designated a Heritage Protection Overlay Zone since 2019, a status granted by the City of Cape Town to manage and enhance the neighbourhood’s unique cultural heritage while regulating development. City planning documents highlight gentrification and displacement as pressing issues linked to changing property ownership patterns and shifts in the area’s socio-cultural identity.
The neighbourhood’s tensions over tourism and heritage have been reported extensively, including internationally. Residents object to overcrowding on the streets from large tour groups and the presence of tourism businesses owned by outsiders, which many see as accelerating gentrification and threatening Bo-Kaap’s historic community.
On 29 October 2026, the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association held a meeting at the Bo-Kaap Cultural Hub to call for tighter controls on tourism after ongoing frustrations from residents. This follows repeated reports of inadequate enforcement of bus restrictions and community complaints about the impacts of visitor traffic.
Recently, media outlets including Daily Voice highlighted the reaction of local voters supporting Al Jama-ah, linking their backing to concerns around gentrification and tourism pressures. However, this electoral connection remains unconfirmed by independent sources and election results.
Bo-Kaap’s future depends on finding a sustainable balance between welcoming visitors and preserving its character as a living, heritage-rich community. The City’s heritage protection and bus restrictions form a legal framework, but residents say more consistent enforcement and community-inclusive planning are needed to address enduring challenges.
CapeFlats.co.za will continue to follow developments on tourism management, gentrification, and heritage protection in Bo-Kaap as community voices press for action.