Heritage & Culture
Nelson Mandela once said that "culture should be the language that should heal and transform the nation".
In recent years, Heritage Tourism has quietly undergone a major facelift. One only has to look at the development of The Cradle of Humankind, Sterkfontein Caves and Constitutional Hill to realise the potential of entrepreneurial opportunities!
Traditionally, the main focus of tourism has been on the growth in international arrivals and total foreign exchange earnings, but recently we have come to realize the huge potential in Heritage. Developing on existing cultural and traditional values unleashes a market for local communities.
While nobody wants to spend a whole day in a museum, think about what you would do culturally, for a whole day in Cape Town!
Start your day with a refreshing walk through the botanical gardens of Kirstenbosch, then visit The Castle, move on to District Six and the South Africa Museum. Afterwards, have lunch at Cape Quarter and then wonder through the Gold of Africa Museum. In the late afternoon take the cable car up Table Mountain to end your day watching the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean.
What route would you plan in your area? This certainly is food for thought!
Tourism must be market related. We have to look at what our communities have to offer and utilise these talents through craft centres and galleries. Even many of our hotels and spas have adopted an "African Theme". The African heritage and cultural tourism experience needs to be woven into the fabric of the mainstream South African tourism product!
South Africa is now home to seven of the world's official heritage sites, as determined by Unesco's World Heritage Committee. Surely this is reward enough to realise that management of Cultural Heritage is crucial in order to secure sustainable tourism development!
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