South Africa’s National Astro-Tourism Strategy will be launched in the Northern Cape on World Tourism Day (September 27).
The Department of Tourism and the Department of Science and Innovation await final Cabinet approval although Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille said she and Minister Blade Nzimande have already approved it.
“It is very exciting for me that the Northern Cape is leading South Africa's proactive stance in leveraging the significant advances made in the development of the world's largest space telescope array with a comprehensive astro-tourism strategy,” said De Lille.
She highlighted the South African site (called MeerKAT) of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a global mega-infrastructure project underway just outside the small Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, set to become the most powerful radio telescope in the world.
“It is for this reason that we chose this site to be the focus of our official World Tourism Day celebration here in the Northern Cape. There are immense opportunities for astro-tourism in South Africa, especially in the Northern Cape.”
According to De Lille, hosting South Africa’s Tourism Month in the Northern Cape will also spotlight experiences and more inviting South Africans and international visitors to explore the province and engage with living cultures and traditions that continue to thrive.
Catalyst for development
“We want to use the SKA and the astro-tourism strategy as a catalyst to develop the Karoo and provide opportunities for rural tourism as well as agri-tourism to further develop rural areas,” said De Lille, adding that South Africa is the first country on the African continent to develop a national astro-tourism strategy.
“This gives us the legacy of mutual understanding between the astronomy significance and the indigenous celestial narratives, enhancing the synergy between humans and conservation and a creative link between our origins of life on Earth and the origins of the universe.”
She pointed out that 50% of the world's population cannot see the beauty of the night sky but the African sky still remains at an advantage with the clearest and darkest night sky.
“This strategy aims to position South Africa as a world-class astro-tourism destination, focusing on infrastructure development, optimal functioning of astronomy-tourism streams and community transformation.
“The vision of this strategy aims to develop and position an inclusive astro-tourism sector that will yield sustainable benefit-sharing opportunities by maximising marketing efforts and enhancing visitor experience in South Africa.”
Astro-tourism potential
She said South Africa has potential to be a leading astro-tourism destination due to lack of light pollution, favourable weather, the Southern sky advantage and four of the world's best-preserved meteorite impact craters on South African soil.
South Africa also hosts two of the world’s most significant astronomy initiatives: the SKA and Southern African Large Telescope (the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere) near Sutherland in the Northern Cape.
The pillars of South Africa’s National Astro-Tourism Strategy have been developed through a multi-disciplinary consultancy process involving tourism and astronomy stakeholders in South Africa.
Initiatives aiming to achieve the goal to grow astro-tourism in South Africa will be implemented, monitored and evaluated in terms of the three strategic pillars:
- Indigenous celestial narratives and human capacity development
- Infrastructure development
- Inclusive tourism growth and partnerships
