Soweto tourism consolidates

SOWETO’S tourism industry will soon be represented under one body with the establishment of the Soweto Tourism Information Centre (STIC). The new centre will group together the Soweto Tourism Association with sister associations such as Kliptown, Eldorado Park and Lenasia, as well as accommodation establishments, tour operators, and site guides. The STIC offices will include a visitors’ centre, a conference/meeting room equipped with standard audio-visual equipment, a curio shop, a call centre, an Internet café and a cafeteria. “STIC will be a tourism hub and one-stop shop for Soweto,” said Eddy Khoza, acting ceo of the Johannesburg Tourism Company, which is driving the establishment of the information centre. The JTC, together with the private sector, will appoint staff, including a development manager, for the centre. The centre, currently under construction and due to open in the middle of this year, will be housed at Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown. (Darren Sandras)