Khayelitsha tours taking off big time
Tourists looking for immersive activities and here they are
● Juma Mkwela lost everything when his home was attacked and looted by a mob during the 2008 xenophobic attacks which left 62 foreigners dead countrywide.
But the Malawian did not allow the wave of violence to make him bitter or kill his dream of being an artist in his adopted home of Khayelitsha, the Western Cape’s biggest township.
Through his company, Township Art Tours, he has become an agent of change and an inspiration to many — adding flair to runof-the-mill township tours by giving tourists the opportunity to help him paint murals on homes or plant food gardens.
He believes that getting visitors involved in this way not only addresses poverty and uplifts communities, but “gives them the opportunity to have meaningful, real interactions with locals — an experience which often leads to visitors cooking and sharing meals with residents”.
After seven years of bringing visitors to experience arts and culture in Khayelitsha, Mkwela’s business is set to receive a major boost following the township’s inclusion in Cape Town’s official tourist routes.
At the end of this month, Cape Town Tourism will launch three curated tourist routes through Khayelitsha in a move aimed at boosting its economy and painting a different picture of a community best known for its social problems, which include poverty, crime and health epidemics.
The routes — arts, culture and shopping; eat, drink and party; and adventure and activities — will show off the township’s creative spirit, business culture, restaurant scene, theatre and arts and crafts.
Cape Town Tourism communications manager Briony Brookes said the organisation had a focus on promoting particular neighbourhoods, hoping to assist them to capitalise on tourism.
“Over the past year, Khayelitsha has been one of the neighbourhoods that has received input from the city,” she said. “We have done numerous workshops and training sessions with local small businesses to curate experiences and to get different products on board to work together to make this a reality.”
The introduction of the new routes been hailed as a breakthrough by Khayelitsha businesses following the success of a Cape Town Tourism pilot project in the township.
Recognition and promotion by Cape Town’s official tourist body would “open doors and allow businesses and tourist attractions to have a wider reach and convince international tourists who are still reluctant to come and experience township life due to negative publicity”, said Sikelela Dibela of Siki’s Koffee Kafe.
Dibela, who serves his own blend of coffee in a shop in his mother’s garage, said he hoped the initiative would make it possible for him to expand his business into a fullyfledged restaurant.
Sam Mokoena, co-owner of 4Roomed eKasi Culture, said being part of the pilot project had worked so well for his family business that he and his wife, Abigail Mbalo, had changed their business model. “Our original idea was to focus on the local market, but after our involvement with Cape Town Tourism we had to change our focus completely, and today 90% of our patrons are international tourists,” he said.
Carel Stadler, trade and partnership manager at Cape Town Tourism, said recent factfinding meetings with big tour operators and airlines in London, Paris and Amsterdam, confirmed international tourists were looking for “immersive experiential activities”.
He said: “We were trying to understand the drop in tourist numbers in the past year and wanted feedback on the barriers to selling Cape Town. The feedback was so positive, and it was clear that tourists want to meet and engage with local people. This is fantastic news for us as it shows that we are heading in the right direction.”
Stadler said while safety and security still needed attention, it did not help tourism to paint townships as crime hot spots.
Ayanda Cuba, whose company, ABCD Concepts, is trying to change perceptions of the township through cycling and jogging tours, said locals were often responsible for scaring tourists away.
“Myself and my business partner Buntu [Matole] have been doing jogging or cycle tours in Khayelitsha for three years, sometimes as early as 5am, and not once have we ever been robbed,” he said.
“Many times it will be commuters on the bus who will shout through the windows: ‘Hey, tell umlungu [white person] to hide his phone or he will be robbed.’ I think it is through such people and their paranoia with crime that Khayelitsha is seen as a crime hot spot, but that is not necessarily true.”
Getting visitors involved gives them the opportunity to have meaningful, real interactions with the locals
Juma Mkwela
Owner, Township Art Tours