South African Tourism launches Mahatma Gandhi Inspired Tourist Attractions and Gandhi website

South African Tourism announces the launch of a Ghandi Inspired Tourist Attractions that identifies 13 places that were seminal in Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s journey in South Africa.

Identifying these places and including them on the Gandhi Inspired Tourist Attractions enables the global travel trade to package yet another fascinating aspect of South African history and culture. It makes the Gandhi sites accessible to people from all over the world who want to come and walk in his footsteps, and experience Gandhi’s South Africa.

Mahatma Gandhi inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He led India to independence from colonial British rule in 1947. He spent the formative years of his life in South Africa, having come to this country in 1893 at the age of 24, and leaving 21 years later in 1914. Central to his immense contribution to human rights was his Satyagraha movement of passive resistance whose enduring impact continues to shape the world today and whose principles he developed whilst living in South Africa.

The Gandhi Inspired Tourist Attractions was launched in Orchards, Johannesburg on October 16, 2014. The launch was attended by Indian Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr T Armstrong Changsan; Acting Director: Arts, Culture and Heritage, City of Johannesburg and author of Gandhi's Johannesburg: Birthplace of Satyagraha, Mr Eric Itzkin; and South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thulani Nzima.

South African Tourism’s Gandhi webpage also be launched on October 16, provides a comprehensive list of Gandhi-related sites across the country, information on them, and best ways for the global travel trade to package these itinerary highlights for tourists who seek to explore South Africa’s rich cultural heritage and history. It also tells the life story of this remarkable statesman, family man, politician and human being.

Gandhi’s granddaughter, Ms Ela Gandhi says: “South Africa transformed Gandhi’s life. It can transform your life too. Many tours of South Africa show the beauty of this country. But by walking in the footsteps of Gandhi, you do not only experience the beauty of this land, you experience and understand the real meaning of love. I would say this is the most important tour in anybody’s life. People come to the Gandhi sites for inspiration, and to hear the stories about peace, love and unity that remain as deeply relevant all over the world today as they were when he walked on earth.”

South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thulani Nzima says: “We extend a sincere and warm invitation to tourists from across the world to come and experience the South Africa that shaped and influenced Gandhi. The Gandhi Inspired Tourist Attractions makes Mahatma’s South Africa accessible to people who want to understand how this country shaped his conscience, his service to humanity and his great contribution to world history.

“We encourage the global travel trade and tour operators to visit the website and include Gandhi Inspired Tourist Attractions in their itinerary planning. This will greatly enhance tourists’ enjoyment of present-day South Africa through an understanding of this land’s fascinating history.”