Tshwane Tourism Association (TTA) launched a comprehensive tourist map for the metropolitan area of Tshwane last week.

 “The tourist app market is currently a young and volatile market with no clear leaders and developing an app, can be extremely costly and time consuming,” said Bronwen Cadle de Ponte, TTA Chairperson, on the decision to produce a printed map rather than an app. “Our objective was to put information for tourists on the ground as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

“Our informal research also indicated that most people who travel regularly still like to hold a physical map in their hands, like to be able to assess the entire city in one view without having to scroll around and, most importantly, are most often not constantly connected to the Internet while travelling.”

However, Cadle de Ponte is open to developing an app for the map in future. “We plan to convert the information used to produce the map over time and the result will be a print tourist map and an app for the city of Tshwane.”

The tourist map includes the location of, and detailed information on, accommodation establishments, attractions, tour operators and guides and other tourism-related businesses in the city. It also provides visitors with detailed information on the buildings on Church Square, information on major transport hubs such as the airports, Gautrain stations and bus routes, locations of free WiFi and Visitor Information Centres around the city.

The map also includes a section on Tshwane trivia, providing facts on the city and an inset detailing the city’s public art.

“We view this map as a starting point and welcome your constructive criticism on how it can be improved,” said Cadle de Ponte.

The map will be distributed at hotels and other businesses in the city as well as at visitor information centres across Gauteng. Individual copies are also available from the Tshwane Tourism Association office on (012) 841 4212 or secretary@tshwanetourism.com.