One of the less succesful aspects of the 2010 Final Draw experience was the stereotypical way in which we persist in portraying South Africa to the rest of the world. I visited the South African Host Cities exhibition space at the CTICC and was shocked to see how we continue to reinforce colonial views of Africa and South Africa. If you look at the imagery used by SA Tourism and by most of the host cities, you would swear that South Africa consists primarily of scenic beauty, wild animals and people in rural areas in traditional dress. Where is the urban culture? Where is the science and technology? Where are our universities, innovative people and ideas, modern infrastructure and telecommunications, creative industries? Where is life in our townships and inner cities? Where is qwaito, hip hop, rap, reggae, Cape jazz? Where are the taxi ranks and train stations, the markets and shopping malls, the shebeens and spaza shops – the places that real South Africans frequent? Have a look for yourself and decide…
The old Satour still alive and well?
Come to South Africa, you don't have to meet real peoople
Rikshas and 'traditional Zulu maidens' make their reappearence
Only Johannesburg portrays a glimpse of urban life
Even Cape Town is not immune from cliches - winelands, coons and Robben Island
Nelson Mandela Bay trying hard with Jimmy Dludlu, more 'traditional maidens' and an obviously posed photo of mixed couples at the beach
Yup, more 'traditional maidens', wild animals and wide open spaces again
As Mariette Du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, put it to me in a balanced way: “Cape Town must be presented to the world as a vibey, cosmopolitan capital of culture, with a modern living culture that resonates with its citizens. It is scenic beauty, wine, wildlife, ocean and mountain, but it is also so much more and yes, the “other side” is often missing in promotions and displays”
I agree 100 % Andrew – well said. The show itself was poor too. See my comments on http://www.whalecottage.com/blog
I believe the show was fine. No frills, well executed but could have focussed on some of the World Cup Venues.
The Host City displays were awful. I was terribly disappointed by Cape Town’s display. There were no interactive elements apart from a TV screen.
I agree completely. It reminds me of the pictures I’ve been shown of the SA Tourism stand at World Travel Market in London, as well as the proposed Foreign Affairs/DTI exhibition stand for World Expo 2010 in China.
We really need to raise the level of thinking to be more globally relevant and competitive. For too long we’ve rested on our old cliches. To be taken seriously as a country to do business with, we have to start showing what we offer. I don’t see China focusing almost entirely on terracotta statues and rice paddies.
Morning,
This published last Wednesday in the Cape Argus, without having seen Andrew’s initial blog.
We can and should do more to make Cape Town’s offering more authentic.
Any ideas? Please give me a shout – let’s talk about this, and the Cape Argus offers a great forum.
My best,
MW
082 338 79 38
MURRAY WILLIAMS
… days and counting.
And we’re about to tell the world: “We’re just like you!”
Ya, we’re ready. But how depressing that we’re about to offer the world an experience almost entirely devoid of any genuinely Capetonian character or flavour.
Sure, we have a “world class” airport – looks a bit like Dubai’s.
Sure we have a world class stadium – could be anywhere.
And we have a world class waterfront, dishing out almost exclusively Western food and clothing, or over-priced African kitch.
We’re about to host tens of thousands of guests. And they’ll all be saying: “Goodness, your coast looks like the Italian Riviera! Your Cape Winelands could easily be parts of Provence or Tuscanny.” You get the drift.
The reason for this is not that our geography is almost identical – it’s not – but that our tourism offerings are so closely modeled on “the best”, ie: Europe/America/etc.
Spend a day driving to our so-called “Top Ten” tourists sites and you will indeed see places you can only see here. But the accompanying food/décor/service/music/dress/etc could all be anywhere. Potentially wonderful tourism staff are tied up in “Yes Sir, no Sir” protocols.
What’s missing, very starkly, is an authentic and unique Capetonian way of doing things.
Look at the most famous tourist brand on the planet: London. What comes to mind? Double-decker buses, red phone booths and post boxes, soldiers in very strange hats, a palace or two, a queen, some corgis, some punks, lawn tennis.
And what does Cape Town offer by comparison? A mountain and some fynbos. None of which represent “who we are”.
Here are four quick steps to change that, to start with:
Maximise numbers visiting our iconic venues that tell the world who we are, like Robben Island, the Bo-Kaap, our townships.
Deck out every registered car guard in Cape Minstrel uniforms. Make the City sing with their history. Tourists’ photos alone would give us massive viral marketing. Only in Cape Town.
Set up authentically Capetonian food stalls at ten premier tourists sites. Get the booths sponsored, cook up standard recipes and train up vendors ready to serve. Get Big Issue involved to make sure the most needy are involved.
Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited market “Go Wild in Cape Town”, aggressively punting our premier authentic outdoor and cultural Cape Town experiences.
A start. And simple. A single meeting between the City, tourism MEC Alan Winde and potential private sector sponsors like Pick n Pay and Independent Newspapers could work out a plan in less than an hour flat.
As the Black Eyed Peas are about to sing: “Let’s do it.”
Let’s tell the world who we really are.