New SA Tourism Focus For Culture and Heritage

South Africa's culture and heritage could regain its rightful place in positioning South Africa as a "must-see" long-haul destination with the launch of a new national strategy this month.

The national heritage and cultural tourism strategy, launched by Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk earlier this month, has been described as the "first blueprint for heritage and cultural tourism development in South Africa".

Heritage and cultural tourism is undervalued in South Africa, says Paul Miedema, owner of Port Elizabeth-based Calabash Tours, a tour operator that specialises in cultural tours. "As a destination, we assert our African status on our wildlife and our landscape. Politically, lip service is paid to the importance of heritage and culture, but within the private sector, there seems to be an underlying resistance to packaging it."

This news is a particularly important boost for two of uThungulu District Municipalities current projects, namely the Zululand Heritage Route (Route 66) and the development of the KwaBulawayo Cultural Tourism Centre just outside Empangeni. Both these products have high potential for becoming world class culture and heritage tourism attractions. This new strategy will initially focus on:

• Positioning festivals and events 
• Packaging and marketing of heritage sites 
• Integration of culture into marketing platforms 
• Integration of culture and heritage in mainstream tourism 
• Positioning of films and documentaries to tell the South African stories 
• Auditing and Mapping of cultural and heritage attractions 
• Funding of Culture, Heritage and Rural Tourism projects through social responsibility programs 

Overall, a greater marketing thrust and focus on this fast growing market segment, holds invaluable benefits for the rich cultural and heritage attractions of our region.