Tourism in South Africa
South Africa, covering an area of 1,219,912 square kilometers, offers a wealth of varied landscapes; the expanses of desert or semi-desert of western countries oppose the rainforests or savannas veld of northern and eastern regions. National parks where you can see the big five, caves and rocks covered with paint, the oldest dating back to 28,000 years, traditional Zulu or Ndebele villages, are the wealth of this vast country.
2L'Afrique South hosted in 2003, 6.5 million international tourists, 69.2% of which come from African countries and overseas 30.8%. It ranks thirtieth in the world, behind Denmark and Ireland and is presented as the main tourist destination in Africa. Tourism development in the country is relatively spectacular, attendance has increased by 6.4 between 1990 and 2003 over the same period, the number of people / tourists saw a real jump from 38 to 6.3.
3The tourism contributes 7.1% to GDP and employs 510,000 people, or 3% of the workforce. The share of international tourism in the country's tourism revenue amounted to 53.5% (EUR 6.79 billion), against 46.5% for the domestic tourism which nevertheless attracts a larger number of individuals (28.8 million). While international tourism currently generates significant revenue, it has not always been so. Because of its segregation policy officially applied with the coming to power of nationalists in 1948, South Africa was excluded from large international tourism. For several decades, the country, the scene of numerous clashes, was potentially dangerous. The abolition of the major apartheid laws, the threshold of 90 years, would allow the country to enter truly the era of tourism.
4since then, the government is working through his department, to erase the negative image of the country. Promotional campaigns, especially for African customers (neighboring countries), European and North American, highlight the sometimes European style cities, sometimes the wilderness side of the country.
A huge tourism potential
South Africa has a significant tourism capital. The country abounds in national parks and reserves (Map 1) where you can observe animals in the wild. The beaches where waves come to die rolls, as in Jeffreys Bay or Durban, are a paradise for surfers. The mountains contain hiking trails, such as the Giant's Cup (Drakensberg) or Blyderivierspoort (Blyde River Canyon).
8The parks and reserves are by far the major South African tourist attractions. The country focuses more than 140 national parks and private nature reserves. The best known and visited are those where you can see lesbig five, this is the case of Kruger5 National Park in the northeast of the country. Other parks, less famous, also the delight of tourists, like Addo Elephant Park6 (photo 1), near Port Elizabeth. All national parks, which cover 6.3% of the country are managed by the South African National Parks (SANP). Most South African parks offer many accommodation options from camping to the fully equipped hut. The écotouristique7 approach, of which South Africa was a priority, finds its application in the nature reserves.
9The natural attractions such as the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain or the Blyde River Canyon also attract many tourists. Some or most of these sites have been turned into nature reserves. They are valued more for their landscapes for their wildlife. It is also as a major attraction Caves Cango Caves, 30 km from Oudthoorn8, which were inhabited by the Bushmen for 5000 years mentioned. Formations of stalactites and stalagmites are visible.
10Des relatively famous routes such as wine trails and gardens (Map 1), contribute to the renowned tourist from South Africa. Follow the wine trails not only allows visitors to indulge in tastings, but to discover the history of South African wine, with monuments (Huguenot Monument, Rhenish Complex) and museums (Museum Stellenryck, Huguenot Museum ). The road jardins9suit coastline, over 350 km between Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth. It passes through native forest, where heath, proteas of agapanthus or belonging to Cape floral10 kingdom grow. There are other routes, less famous but newly promoted as the road battlefields Thukela area in KwaZulu-Natal. It passes through areas where the main conflicts took place in history.11 the country between the Voortrekkers (Boers) and Zulu (Blood River, 1838), or between the British and the Zulus (Rorke's Drift etIsandlwana, 1879).
11The South African cities are also attractive for tourists. Cape Town, for example, can claim a number of advantages (Newbould, 2000). The city enjoys a wonderful setting at the foot of Table Mountain and nestled in the heart of an open bay. In addition to its website, it contains historical monuments (the Castle of Good Hope, the Church of Groot Kerk or the Houses of Parliament), museums (District Six, Bo-Kaap, Rust-en-Vreugd ...) and Botanical Gardens (Company's Gardens and Kirstenbosch). Robben Island, an island located about ten kilometers off the city and has become famous for the long passage in the walls of his prison of Nelson Mandela, also contributes to the tourist attraction of the city. In South African cities a kind of cultural tourism linked to the discovery of townships developed. And Johannesburg, several agencies offer tours to Soweto, including among others the visit of the former home of Nelson Mandela, a shebeen and a squatter camp.
