The pilot phase of artstourism.guru is a new online
platform, which has been designed to integrate heritage and cultural
experiences with South Africa’s well-established natural attractions.
“BASA's mandate is to act as a bridge between the business
and arts sectors as a way of helping each one achieve optimal benefits from
their partnerships,” comments Business and Arts South Africa CEO, Michelle
Constant.
“The tourism platform that is being developed for us is
premised on the belief that arts and cultural tourism can create greater job
opportunities, self-employment and entrepreneurship in both the cultural and
tourism sectors. It also provides an excellent opportunity to promote South
African culture both locally and internationally.”
The beta phase of artstourism.guru is built around arts
festival mapping and links with nearby star-graded accommodation to deliver an
immersive experience for culture-hungry travellers.
In time, artstourism.guru will include art galleries,
museums, architectural landmarks, theatres and many other arts, heritage and
entertainment attractions – creating an integrated tourist ecosystem with
greater economic potential and benefits. The aim of the platform is to be a
one-stop-destination for those wanting to integrate the creative economy of the
country into their tourism business or their tourism experience.
“Our presence at Indaba 2016 is intended to introduce the
artstourism.guru platform to the tourism market and also to spotlight the
importance of arts, heritage and entertainment to the overall experience being
offered to tourists.” says Constant.
One of the categories in the 19th Annual BASA Awards
partnered by Hollard and Business Day is the Cultural Tourism Award, supported
by Nedbank, which recognising business support of public arts and culture
projects which contribute towards the growth of communities and jobs, and
support the opportunities provided by local tourism.
BASA is also using Indaba 2016 to get feedback on
artstourism.guru, and cultural tourism in general, from participants on all
sides of the tourism equation as it moves forward into the next phase of the
platform’s design.
“We are very keen to explore partnerships and hope that we
can support the conversation in geolocation-based regional tourism moving
forward,” concludes Constant.
Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) is an internationally
recognised South African development agency with a suite of integrated programmes
implemented nationally and internationally. BASA encourages mutually beneficial
partnerships between business and the arts, securing the future development of
the arts sector in South Africa and contributing to corporate success through
Shared Value. Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) was founded in 1997 as a
joint initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture and the business sector
as a public/private partnership.
For more information on Business and Arts South Africa
contact 011 447 2295 or visit www.basa.co.za
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