The cycling festival joins the Ironman 70.3, Ironman South Africa, the Africa Open Golf Challenge, Ocean Racing Series and the SPAR River Mile events that form part of ECPTA's event partnership strategy.
These were closely aligned to the national tourism authority's vision to grow tourism arrivals in South Africa to 15-million and create 225,000 jobs by 2020, said Rubushe. "We are working towards gaining a slice of these arrivals through event partnerships." He said the concept of adventure did not exclusively refer to adrenalin-based activities but also included aspects such as lifestyle, culture and heritage.
As far as adventure-based tourism was concerned, Rubushe said cycling was a growing factor. "We are setting up a provincial research system, which will enable us to know exactly what niche markets are currently in demand. However, from our interactions with the industry, we understand that cycling holidays are becoming more popular."
