The community-based tourism project, Sonke Cape Route, has forged an association with the Africa Travel Association.
The latter was launched in the Western Cape earlier this month.
ATA focuses on marketing small-scale tourism businesses to North American travel agents. Sonke is a group of 35 community-based tourism businesses that promote and support the development of tourism enterprises within previously ignored areas.
The organisation acts as the link between small business and official bodies, to help them work within the system and ensuring that they work within an already established framework.
Support structures include the Western Cape Tourism Board, Cape Town Tourism and Peninsula Technikon.
The ATA has assisted Sonke’s members by helping them put together tourism packages that can be marketed and promoted to the North American market.
(Tina Meier-Carter)
