Departments of Tourism; and Science, Innovation and Technology delegates visit the SKA site in the Karoo

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Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille led the delegation, which included national, provincial and local government officials from the Northern Cape, as well as stakeholders from all three levels.

More than 120 delegates from two government departments, the Departments of Tourism; and Science, Innovation and Technology together with a large group of members of the media from across the country, visited the SKA site at Losberg in the Northern Cape on Thursday, 26 September 2024.

The site visit formed part of the World Tourism Day celebrations held in Carnarvon during the same week, which culminated in the launch of the National Astro-Tourism Strategy, the first country on the African continent to do so.

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille led the delegation, which included national, provincial and local government officials from the Northern Cape, as well as stakeholders from all three levels.

The group were taken on tours of the data centre and power room, and the antenna field which included stops at the KAT-7 telescope, the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionisation Array, the SKA Mid prototype, the MeerKAT launch antenna at M47 and the first SKA MID antenna.

At the official launch of the National Astro-Tourism Strategy on Friday, 27 September 2024, Minister De Lille held the SKA telescope up as a perfect example of marrying science and tourism.

“I had the privilege yesterday to visit the Square Kilometre Array telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world and it’s just outside Carnarvon. It was truly remarkable to see how science is making a remarkable leap towards the future, and all on African soil. Very exciting for me is that this province is leading South Africa’s proactive stance in leveraging the significant advances made in the development of the world’s largest space telescope array, with a comprehensive astro-tourism strategy,” said De Lille.

“We want to use the SKA and the Astro Tourism as a catalyst to develop the Karoo and provide opportunities for rural tourism as well as agri-tourism to develop rural areas further,” the Minister continued.

The guests roamed the site for a short while longer before returning to Carnarvon to continue with the World Tourism Day celebrations.

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille led the delegation, which included national, provincial and local government officials from the Northern Cape, as well as stakeholders from all three levels.

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