The Department of Science and Innovation, has announced its new astro-tourism strategy, to promote scientific advancement and South Africa’s natural beauty.
The Northern Cape is set to become the hub of this new initiative, in a unique initiative that will combine the vast beauty of the Karoo with groundbreaking astronomy.
The country’s Astro-Tourism Strategy, which is still to be approved by Cabinet, will be unveiled in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, on 27 September 2024.
The strategy is a collaboration between the Department of Science and Innovation and the Department of Tourism.
In a media alert on Thursday, the Department, said the vastness of the Karoo and its location away from noise and light pollution, makes the area a prime spot for the study of celestial bodies and events.
Both Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, and Minister of Tourism, Ms Patricia de Lille, are expected to launch the initiative, will next week, at the Square Kilometre Array core site, which includes the MeerKAT and KAT-7 radio telescope arrays.
The day will conclude with a stargazing event.
At the same time South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), will also host a Desert Golf Challenge.
Picture: CSIROpedia