Johannesburg - Ever wondered about the infamous Msomi gang and their reign of terror in Alexandra in the 1940s and 1950s?
Or perhaps you want to learn more about the life that Umkhonto weSizwe operative Solomon Mahlangu led in Mamelodi.
This will soon be possible, thanks to the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), which plans to introduce authentic “neighbourhood” tours in some of the province’s biggest townships.
The GTA recently awarded a R1.1-million tender to the concept, design and activation agency MojaNation Exchange to identify, develop and package township tour experiences for Gauteng.
This is part of the tourism department’s contribution to the province’s township revitalisation programme, according to GTA spokesperson Barba Gaoganediwe.
“Places like Soweto are already developed and we are using the Soweto set-up as a model we want to replicate in all the major townships we are targeting,” he explained.
Organisations selling tourism experiences in Soweto had organised themselves under an umbrella body, making it easier to market to big travel agents, hotel groups and other tourism agencies.
“Instead of five markets going into the market on their own, we will help them organise themselves to package their experience.”
Tour experiences in Alexandra would cover, among others, the Msomi gang headquarters and Mandela house. In Mamelodi, visitors can view the Solomon Mahlangu house, museum and memorial site.
Tours to the Oriental Plaza neighbourhood zone would include the plaza itself and Cinnamon Palace.
Gaoganediwe said it was important that each township offered different experiences. “They must be authentic, real and local,” he added.
The GTA would report to the Tourism Department monthly on how the local communities were benefiting.
Gaoganediwe said the GTA was excited about the project. “It removes the stereotypes that tourism is about big, fancy, known establishments and has nothing to do with our communities.
“In townships we have even deeper stories that now need to form part of the mainstream experience.”
The research phase was expected to take around 18 months, before the new tours were introduced. But Gaoganediwe said the projects would evolve even after their inception.
The GTA hopes to partner with international groups to link them to the smaller township enterprises.
The Star