SA tourism makes giant strides

  1. Posted on Wednesday 22 July 2009 - 14:53
    Mernat
    Image of Mernat
    Mernat Mafirakurewa, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
    One of South Africa's tourist attractions, the Table Mountain in Cape Town has made it into the final round of the New7Wonders of Nature. The top 28 wonders from around the world were announced on Tuesday, by the New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland.
    table mountain
    Table Mountain will now compete for a top seven finish to be announced in 2011. "We were really excited when our mountain made it through to the list of 77 sites which were voted in by the public.

    “And we are now delighted that the judges have shown their appreciation for this World Heritage Site and given Table Mountain a chance to compete against other incredible natural phenomenon," said Sabine Lehmann, CEO of Table Mountain Cableway.

    She paid tribute to all the people that took their time to vote for Table Mountain. “Now that we are in the final list of 28, we will put all our energy behind drumming up support from around the world to see that Table Mountain makes it to the final 7,” said Lehmann.

    Other sites that made it include legendary sites such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Grand Canyon in the USA and the Amazon in South America. Table Mountain is one of only two African sites to have made the prestigious list, along with Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

    The campaign is run by the New7Wonders Foundation which is based in Zurich, Switzerland and works to document monuments and conservation efforts worldwide. Voting for the New7Wonders of Nature, as chosen by popular vote from the 28 finalists will now resume and continue throughout 2010 and into 2011 when the Official New7Wonders of Nature will be announced.

    People who voted in the initial stage to name the top 77 site must now vote again in the final phase to name the top 7 sites. The New7Wonders of Nature campaign aims to raise awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature on Earth.

    The Foundations slogan says, "If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!" The awareness and tourism income means that these natural treasures can be better preserved for future generations.

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