‘Mzansi Experience’ improves South Africa's tourism

“The Mzansi” has been developed to improve Google Maps and street view virtual experience, by introducing better images and videos

Developers in South Africa thought of an innovative way to boost tourism and diversify virtual tourism via Google Maps and to show the world the beauty and uniqueness of the country. Mich Atagana, director of communications and public affairs at Google South Africa, explains:

“There are some people who can never afford to physically come to South Africa and see these places in their lifetime, and hopefully this will give them the opportunity to experience it a little bit.

“The Mzansi experience is part of Google maps and street view. We have created a gallery of all these images, which you can access through Google Maps. The camera used is called a tracker; it has 19 cameras and it catches a 360-degree view of an area, and when you access the images on Google maps, it is almost as good as walking through the area itself.”

Kruger Park, Table Mountain, Cape Point and Kirstenbosch Gardens feature inside of the “Mzanzi Experience”, that proves to be very helpful for researchers as well.

“Even South Africans who do not have the means to go to Kruger can also experience that. This is a very important part of this. It is a window for people who want to experience and look at it and get on a plane to go, which is great and we encourage that, there are some people who can never afford to physically come to South Africa and see these places in their lifetime, and hopefully this will give them the opportunity to experience it a little bit,” Atagana added.