Special road and air routes linking Cape Town with Namibia and the Kruger National Park are planned by the provincial tourism department. The project includes road signage and the development of tourist attractions along both routes, to popularise them.

The director of tourism development, Brent Walters, said the N7 would be linked with the Northern Cape and Namibia as part of the plan.

"Discussions have been held with the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Namibian tourism authorities," he said. "We are busy with an audit of suitable products and developing a plan for signage. There are people who just want to take a break and get out into nothingness," Walters said.

Rest stops, "incorporating the cultural elements of the area", will be developed along the route.

An air link between Cape Town and the Kruger park will be developed. "We are in discussion with the Mpumalanga tourism authorities about the route. We find that international tourists who visit Cape Town want to see the wildlife as well. We have found that once you put a link on it, then products from the private sector flow in."

The project is still in the planning stage but development will start in early 2006.

Two of four tourism "gateways" to the province, at Beaufort West and the V&A Waterfront, were developed by the department last year. Similar gateways are planned for Vanrhynsdorp on the West Coast and for Storms River in the southern Cape.

(Source: The Cape Argus, 1 November 2005)