Kolkata, July 17 (IANS) After successfully wooing visitors to its wildlife parks, South Africa is now set to attract Indian travellers to the country's breath-taking Drakensberg mountains as part of its leisure tourism sector.
Leisure tourism comprises 30 percent of South Africa's travel industry and the nation plans to boost it by opening up new geographical areas (such as the mountains) and by providing more travel experiences.
"As part of leisure tourism, we are bringing the mountains into focus. South Africa is not only about wildlife. Drakensberg mountains will offer visitors a chance to experience the art and culture as well as adventure," Hanneli Slabber, country head, South African Tourism said during the 'Learn South Africa' training programme here.
Straddling the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Lesotho, Mpumalanga and Limpopo province in South Africa, Drakensberg mountains will offer a unique opportunity to travellers to interact with 500 artists on a stretch of road connecting Durban to Johannesburg.
"We are keen to develop the holiday spots and push these areas. One can find potters, shoemakers, weavers and basket makers in a single stretch. One can watch and learn as well as shop," said Slabber.
With the nation receiving 18 percent of its international tourists from India, South Africa is pitching itself as a family destination by bringing out special family getaway packages to specific parts of the ranges.
Drakensberg will bring in adventure lovers to try out around 152 adrenaline-rush driven experiences like abseiling and sand-boarding.
On the other end, coastal plains of KwaZulu-Natal, a melting pot of colonial European, Indian and Zulu communities, promises travellers a dose of culture and architecture.
According to Slabber, around half a million South Africans get decent jobs thanks to the tourism industry and therefore they plan to peg relatively unknown regions, like the mountains as hotspots for leisure travel enthusiasts.
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