National astro-tourism strategy aims to capitalise on space science projects including SKA telescope
South Africa has finalised a national space tourism strategy that will be formally launched later this year, MPs have heard.
Africa’s clear night skies, astronomy infrastructure and indigenous starlore are untapped resources for tourism and socioeconomic development, the Department of Science and Innovation’s chief director of astronomy told a parliamentary committee on 1 March.
Takalani Nemaungani said the DSI has been working with the Department of Tourism and the government of the Northern Cape, where many of the country’s astronomy attractions are based, to develop and implement a tourism strategy.
The strategy will now be tabled for cabinet approval, and it’s expected to be officially launched at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly that will be held in Cape Town in August, he said.
Funding gap
Nemaungani said they compiled a list of existing projects that are aligned with the strategy already. “This strategy is not coming in a vacuum—astro-tourism is already happening,” said Nemaungani.
The list identified projects to the value of R271 million (US$14.3m). However, of this funding, only R139m had been secured, while R132m remains to be raised.
That’s where the department will focus its efforts, said Nemaungani. “We are going to be engaging with the national treasury, to see if some kind of astro-tourism fund can also be established, maybe in the medium to long term,” he said.
Astro-tourism projects that are already underway include the R62m Square Kilometre Array Science Visitor Centre in the Northern Cape province, and the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome in Johannesburg, expected to cost over R75m.
Many of the other existing projects aligned to the plan are based in the Northern Cape province, where conditions are more suited to stargazing—the nights are dark, quiet and clear due to very little pollution from noise, light or emissions.
Creating awareness
Nemaungani did not expand on the specific astronomical advantages that other areas of the country offer tourists, but a full list of potential attractions is set to be published in the complete strategy document.
“We are going to be seeking cabinet approval in the next few weeks of the strategy, so that we can gazette it for further public consultation, so that we can create more awareness across the country,” said Nemaungani.
The IAU assembly later this year will also create opportunities to showcase South Africa’s astronomical sites, he added. “We are expecting about 3,000 astronomers, so we are already putting together astro-tours and packages that could be attractive to the global astronomy community to visit different sites.”
Nemaungani said the astro-tourism strategy will bring South Africa in line with other African countries, including Morocco, Namibia, Kenya, Egypt and Botswana, which are already offering stargazer packages to visitors.