At the Tourism Month media launch in Galeshewe, Kimberly, Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille expressed her excitement about the Northern Cape’s pioneering role in astro-tourism. She highlighted that the province is at the forefront of South Africa’s efforts to leverage the development of the world’s largest space telescope array, through a comprehensive astro-tourism strategy.
The Minister emphasized the significance of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, located outside the small town of Carnarvon, where the South African site, known as MeerKAT, is part of this global mega-infrastructure endeavor. The SKA aims to build the most powerful radio telescope in the world, and it’s for this reason that the Northern Cape was chosen as the focal point for South Africa’s official World Tourism Day celebration on 27 September 2024.
Speaking on the importance of World Tourism Day, Minister de Lille noted that it is celebrated globally on 27 September under the theme “Tourism and Peace,” as declared by the United Nations Tourism Organisation (UN Tourism). For South Africa, this day extends into a month-long celebration, with an added theme of “Tourism and Peace—30 years of connecting people, places, and culture” to mark three decades of democracy.
The Minister also shared promising projections for the tourism sector, with employment expected to grow from 1.7 million jobs in 2024 to 2.2 million by 2030, making up 12.8% of total employment in South Africa.
Minister de Lille concluded by inviting all South Africans to explore lesser-visited provinces and to showcase the hidden gems of the nation to the world.
