Township tourism booming as visitors want to see 'real' South Africa
Atricle posted is from the site: http://www.canada.com/
Clare Nullis, Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, January 10, 2007
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - Major Ndaba dons his wild cat skin hat, stands by his
"lucky charm" baboon skeleton and poses for the cameras of visitors intent on
experiencing a South Africa far removed from game reserves and glistening beaches.
Ndaba's dark herbalist store, crammed with tree bark, animal horns and dozens of different
powders and potions which he claims will treat everything from AIDS to infertility to flu,
is a regular attraction on tours into the sprawling settlements set up by the old
apartheid government which are still home to the majority of the population.
Township tourism, which has increased hugely in popularity since South Africa's
multiracial elections of 1994, is now a multimillion-dollar business.
Soweto, the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle, is now Johannesburg's top tourist
attraction, according to local authorities. Tours pass by Nelson Mandela's first home,
that of his former wife Winnie Madikezela Mandela and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, as well
as monuments to fallen heroes of the struggle against racism.
Even in Cape Town, which lacks the historical significance of Soweto, about 25 per cent of
foreign visitors take time out from the stunning scenery and beaches to trawl the dusty
streets of the wind-swept Cape Flats.
Cape Town's tourist office estimates that nearly 320,000 foreign visitors went on a
township tour last year; more than 80 per cent of its 250 licensed tour operators offer
such "cultural experiences."
There are no reliable figures on the economic impact of the tours, which cost on average
US$40 for a half-day visit and more for overnight stays in basic but clean houses or
shacks.
But Simon Kumanya, who runs a craft stall on a dusty corner in Langa, shows the importance
of the tours when he explains that the carved wooden and exquisitely beaded souvenirs he
sells provide work for about 20 people.
"The Germans are my most important customers," he said, flicking an ostrich
feather duster and straining his voice above the belting music from a nearby minibus taxi.
City officials are anxious to encourage the tours, especially in the run-up to the 2010
World Cup. The benefits trickle down to the poorest of the poor, with schools and
child-care centres funded by some of the profits and donations.
"Township tours spread the tourism dividend to the townships. We are simply never
going to unlock the huge potential of this city and province if we confine it to Table
Mountain and the Waterfront," said the incoming head of Cape Town Routes Unlimited,
Sheryl Ozinsky, in a recent newspaper editorial.
But there have been some bad incidents. In November, a group of Germans was robbed by
armed thugs as they visited a school in Langa, and a Dutch group was attacked outside a
restaurant there. Langa was the first township developed after the 1923 Urban Areas Act
tried to force Africans to live in specific locations.
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