The Northern Cape, the province with the smallest share of the country’s population, aims to leverage on its astronomy prowess making it a highly sought-after tourism destination.
The move was announced by Patricia de Lille, the minister of tourism, during her visit to the province this week
“Northern Cape has the potential to be a leading astro tourism destination due to the lack of light pollution and the favourable weather. This is coupled with the southern sky advantage and four of the world’s best preserved meteorite impact craters being on South African soil,” explained De Lille.
The minister also pointed out that although Northern Cape was less visited compared to Western Cape and Gauteng, it was a true gem, offering diverse experiences that cater to all tastes and interests.
“Very exciting for me is that this province is leading South Africa’s proactive stance in leveraging in the significance advance made in the development of the world’s largest space telescope array, with an astro tourism strategy,” she said.
Work is already in full swing outside the town of Carnarvon, where the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a global mega infrastructure project, is being constructed.
At the heart of the project is to build the most powerful radio tele-scope in the world.
“There are immense opportunities for astro tourism in South Africa and especially in the Northern Cape, and this is why we were intentional about selecting this province and the town of Carnarvon,” De Lille explained.
Astro tourism refers to using the natural resource of unpolluted night skies and scientific knowledge for astronomical, cultural and environmental activities. The astro tourism strategy seeks to capitalise on the global significance of the SKA project and the Northern Cape’s wider regions attractiveness as a stargazing destination.
The department believes this will also build on the seeds of tourism successes seen in Sutherland which is home to the Southern African Large Telescope.
Briefing the portfolio committee on higher education, Dr Phil Mjwara, the director-general at the Department of Science and Innovation, noted that the SKA project would have a largely positive and significant impact on the national and socio-economic conditions and scientific activity.
“This was an important global mega infrastructure science project that endeavours to build the largest radio telescope ever built. It will also become the largest scientific infrastructure in Africa and the world,” Mjwara told members of the portfolio committee.
In a research paper titled: Wish Upon a Star: Exploring Astro Tourism as Vehicle for Sustainable Rural Development, the study observed that astro tourism was a niche offering for mainly rural tourism destinations.
