Jozi set for iconic bus service
2012-06-08 16:03
The Gauteng MEC of Economic Development, Qedani Mahlangu's budget speech has revealed some exciting plans
for tourism in the province.
Most notably is the planned launch of
Gauteng’s first hop-on hop-off bus in January 2013. Claus Tworeck will be
bringing City Sightseeing, the number one open top bus, to Jozi. Soon tourists
and residents alike will be able to jump on an iconic red bus and explore some
of the CBDs most famous tourist locations.
From Constitution Hill to Newton and the Origins Centre at
Wits this bus will allow visitors to explore the city’s history in a safe and
convenient way, making the city more tourist friendly. The buses, which
operate in 100 cities on six continents around the world, will offer commentary
in 17 different languages.
Dawn Roberston, CEO of the Gauteng Tourism Authority, says:
“We are very excited about the new hop-on hop-off buses, they are sure to
become a premier tourism experience in Johannesburg and in future we are
looking at bringing the buses to Pretoria too.”
This year will also see a reorganization of the tourism
entities in the province. The three
tourism entities operating in the province - the Gauteng Tourism Authority, the
Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and Dinokeng - are being merged into a
single entity.
This move is informed by the
development of the new Gauteng Tourism Sector Strategy following the Tourism
Summit last year. To this end, and to grow the province’s tourism economy, a
budget allocation of R157-million has been made by the Gauteng Department of
Economic Development (GDED).
A focus area in the 2012/2013
financial year is growing a strong and vibrant domestic tourism portfolio which
is an essential contributor to building a solid foundation for sustainable
tourism growth and development.
To help Gauteng meet its targets,
Gauteng Tourism has identified Dinokeng as the preferred destination in the
province to host World Tourism day which is themed around the sustainable use
of energy. Dinokeng has officially entered into a partnership with Fair Trade
in Tourism South Africa - a non-profit organisation promoting the tourism
businesses of disadvantaged communities and fair trade in tourism.
Says MEC of economic development
Qedani Mahlangu: “This is a great opportunity to showcase Dinokeng and that
urban Gauteng is green and boasts world-class leisure tourism experiences. Over
8.3 million foreign tourists visited South Africa in 2011 and Gauteng received
nearly half of these international arrivals resulting in an increase in tourism
revenue from R26,9-billion in 2010 to R27,5-billion in 2011. In spite of this encouraging growth
we are placing a strong focus on sustainable domestic tourism development
especially in the face of global uncertainties.”
The department is also looking at ways of leveraging off the
unique fossils that are found in the province. One new development that is
underway is to create the Fossil Casting Project which will establish a
facility at the Sterkfontein Caves to cast fossils and other heritage objects
that will be marketed to the scientific and educational community, museums and
the general public. This will be implemented by Wits University and is expected
to create a minimum of 50 new jobs for community members and impart significant
skills in the process.
Robertson says: “It is our belief that the
palaeoanthropological information and specimens need to reach a far wider
audience, and this project is an attempt to boost this objective. This also
falls squarely within our aims of making domestic tourism more appealing not
only to international tourists but domestic ones and of creating employment and
developing skills to grow a strong and vibrant domestic tourism portfolio that
will grow our micro and macro economy.”
Thirty local producers at the Cradle of Humankind World
Heritage Site will also benefit from the implementation of the Craft Product
Development Programme that will be responsible for the production of a minimum
of 90 unique new crafts that are linked to the tourism experiences at the site.
The GTA has made great strides in marketing Johannesburg.
The city is no longer a no-go area for international and domestic tourists and
the GTA has built strong partnerships within the industry, local communities
and the media to showcase the numerous tourism gems within the city.
One of these, The Maboneng Precinct, provides work and
recreation spaces to artists, filmmakers, fashion designers, actors,
entrepreneurs and residents. The development continues to grow from strength to
strength and offers both locals and tourist a unique urban experience.
These kinds of development have been supported by the fun
GeePee domestic marketing campaign which has been inviting Gauteng residents to
be tourists in their own backyards and is attracting an unusual breed of tourist
– local pedestrians who are starting to rediscover their own city.
