Department Of Tourism And Culture, Informed by the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (1996) and the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) (2011), the National Strategy on Heritage and Cultural Tourism serves to guide and provide strategic direction for the development and promotion of heritage and cultural tourism in South Africa. The strategy provides a framework for the coordination and integration of heritage and culture into the mainstream of tourism.
The vision is divided into 3 sections to realize the global competitiveness of South African heritage and cultural resources through product development for sustainable tourism and economic development.
Section One: The introductory section outlines the key points of departure including the vision and mission, an overview of heritage and cultural tourism, broad goals, and aims, rationale, and methodology undertaken to develop the strategy.
Section Two: Provides an analysis of the current situation and projects future scenarios for heritage and cultural tourism.
Section Three: Stemming from the data analysis, the situation analysis, and the stakeholder consultations, five key strategic themes have been identified and are outlined below:
- Strategic Theme: Research, Information and Knowledge Management
- Strategic Theme: Sustainable Development and Management
- Strategic Theme: Marketing, Promotion & Raising Awareness
- Strategic Theme: Cooperation, Partnerships, Institutional Arrangement and Policy
- Strategic Theme: Resource Mobilisation
The implementation of the strategy is applicable nationwide, across the three spheres of government (national, provincial, and local government levels) and through strategic partnerships with the public and private sector, as well as community structures.