December 19, 2003

VISITOR numbers to Soweto have grown by 20 percent over the past two years, and more than 18 percent of first-time foreign visitors to Gauteng go to Soweto.

The power station towers, a landmark in Soweto

This is according to the City of Johannesburg's marketing and tourism report for May 2003. Some 180 000 foreign visitors took a tour of Soweto in 2002, while 29 379 people visited the Mandela Museum, 24 779 people stopped off at the Hector PietersonMemorial, and 12 600 people spent time at the Ubuntu Kraal, all in Orlando West, a suburb of Soweto. That totals 246 758 visitors for 2002.

The Mandela Museum, in Vilakazi Street, is the former four-roomed home of Nelson and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela; the Hector Pieterson Memorial, is three blocks from where the 13-year-old Hector was shot and died on 16 June 1976, the day when students in Soweto marched against the repressive imposition of Afrikaans in schools; and Ubuntu Kraal is a collection of straw-roofed rondawels that form a homestead, popular as a wedding and conference venue.

"Soweto is currently the fifth most popular destination for overseas visitors to Gauteng province," states the report.

Last year saw tourism grow in South Africa by 11.1 percent or 6 429 583 visitors; 54.6 percent of these visitors stopped off in Gauteng as opposed to 22.9 percent visiting the Western Cape, with Mpumalanga taking 20.8 percent of the total.

The sprawling suburb of Soweto with around 900 000 people, has been singled out by the city as one of the premier tourist destinations in Johannesburg. Aggrey Klaaste, chairman of the Johannesburg Tourism Company, agrees with this goal.

"I would like to see greater emphasis on telling tourists, and our own people, the story of Soweto. It is already a major tourist attraction for foreign visitors and we can certainly build on that."

The report survey indicated that when respondents were asked to highlight their Soweto tour experience, most found Soweto offered a "rich cultural diversity", with "seeing life as it really is". The tour included visits to the Chris Hani Baragwananth Hospital, the largest in the world, the Regina Mundi Church, used by anti-apartheid activists as a meeting place, Avalon Cemetery, the Sisulu House, Desmond Tutu's House, and the Soweto Boxing Academy.

More work needs to be done in Soweto, though. Visitors were distressed to see the garbage and unhealthy conditions in some areas, and would have liked to have had a walking tour of some streets and squatter settlements, meeting local residents.

Cultural tourism
The city report states that, according to the latest information coming out of the World Tourism Organisation, "cultural tourism is a growing market", particularly in industrialised countries.
But South Africa and Johannesburg are lagging behind this trend, according to the report's statistics. In 2002 the city's glitzy casinos, Montecasino and Gold Reef city, reflect the greater number of visitors at 10-million and 1.5-million, respectively. Next up for most popular attractions are the city's two largest flea markets: 1.1-million search for bargains at Bruma Flea Market, and 774 000 scratch happily among the stalls at Rosebank Rooftop Market.

Wildlife is still a drawcard among visitors, with 327 755 visiting the Johannesburg Zoo, and 160 000 viewing the lions at the Lion Park.

Jozi's museums mostly show an increase in visitor numbers, although still moderate: the newly-opened and powerful Apartheid Museum http://www.joburg.org.za/november/apartheid.stm recorded 51 000 visitors; the Transport Museum 40 002; MuseuMAfrikA 35 575; and the War Museum 36 779.

Johannesburg has two very special tourist attractions: the world heritage site at the Cradle of Humankind, 50 kilometres west of the city, attracted 96 000 visitors, while the world famous lippizaners (one of only two venues in the world to see them), got 45 000 visitors in 2002.

These figures reflect a broad disparity between local and foreign tourists: the domestic market contributes 71 percent and the foreign market 29 percent, to visitor statistics.

The Mandela Museum is the only exception: its visitors are entirely foreign. The Hector PietersonMemorial attracts 80 percent foreigners, while the MuseuMAfrikA has 60 percent foreign tourists and the Apartheid Museum received 50 percent foreign visitors. All other attractions are 40 percent and below, foreign visitors.

While Montecasino and Gold Reef City attract the most visitors, most of them - 95 percent and 82 percent respectively - are local.

With the exception of three attractions, most of these venues experienced growth in visitor numbers between 2001 and 2002.

The good news is that the "growth in total visitor numbers to attractions surveyed represents 23 percent between 2001 and 2002, of which just over 20 percent were contributed by the foreign market", explains the report. Better still, general foreign visitor numbers grew by around 40 percent over this period.

It is thought that this growth can mainly be attributed to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in the city in August and September last year.

Future developments
The city is not resting on its laurels when it comes to tourism and future planning. A range of exciting developments are already in progress, which will, it is hoped, make Johannesburg what Mayor Amos Masondo refers to as "a world-class city".
The country's Constitutional Court is in the final stages of completion, to be opened in March 2004, built on the historic Old Fort site of the awaiting trial cells and "native goal" in Hillbrow, where Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Mahatma Gandhi spent time.

The historic Kliptown area in Soweto is to see a major development as a heritage tourist destination, recognising its role in 1955 when the Freedom Charter was adopted by people from around the country. It is to be proclaimed a national heritage site and to be named the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication.

The striking Nelson Mandela Bridge was opened this year, opening a gateway to the city and in particular to Newtown, Johannesburg's cultural precinct and home of MuseuMAfrikA, a museum tracing the cultural and ancient history of the city.