“…museums and tourism, like people, are inextricably linked,” says Dr Sian Tiley-Nel, Head of University of Pretoria Museums

As humans, travel is in our blood; we all like to travel, explore and adventure somewhere. We are all accidently tourists in our own country.  Tourism plays a crucial economic role in supporting the museum and wider arts and cultural sector. Over 2020 and 2021, there was an estimated 74% drop in tourism that has devastated museums and resulted in the loss of employment. Some may recover from the effects of COVID-19, and some may not.

Many museums and creative industries closed their doors during this time of staying at home, when we rarely ventured out our comfort zones. Museums, like humans, have had to explore other forms of sustainability, with many migrating or travelling to digital platforms, using 4IR technologies and rethinking their purpose. Now that travel has opened up more, tourism has been boosted as people are getting out and enjoying cultural experiences, Museums and tourism, like people, are inextricably linked.

World Tourism Day is celebrated annually on 27 September, since it was designated in 1979 by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Every year, the day is commemorated with a theme. This year, the 2022 theme is, “Rethinking Tourism”. This theme is based on the global tourism recovery after two years of having been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic did not just have a negative impact, but also exposed weaknesses and critical needs that the tourism industry was simply not aware of.

For example, when the lockdown measures were eased worldwide, most countries began to encourage domestic travel to slowly help tourism recover, and this strategic move became one of the most important sources to boost  local tourism. The western world claims tourism originated in the 19^th century and can be traced back to what was known as the Grand Tour, a traditional trip around Europe, and when the first tourism agencies were created. We argue that tourism began on the African continent, the cradle of humankind, when the first humans migrated and travelled beyond what was familiar to their immediate environment- this was tourism and so we were born to be tourists.

Tourism remains one of the top industries that contributes significantly to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Domestic tourism, which is travelling or doing activities within one’s own country, became the pillar of the tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa as one of the top tourist destinations became known as a ‘World in One Country'.

Most of the tourist destinations ranging from museums, arts, culture, heritage, sports and nature to name just a few are all found within our borders. As World Tourism Day is globally celebrated, the University of Pretoria needs to raise awareness among its community as to the importance of tourism, as well as its social, cultural, political, and economic value and impact.

We are of the opinion that the University of Pretoria as an institution of Higher Education can play a critical role in tourism, and be a tourism destination in one.  From experience and fact, the UP Museums remain one of Gauteng’s top tourist destinations, serving a research institution, students and staff including civic society.

We hope that World Tourism Day aims to share how tourism can be transdisciplinary, meaning all faculties in the institution have the opportunity to showcase their educational potential directly or indirectly to both national and international tourists visiting the University of Pretoria. Some may argue that Universities are anything but tourist destinations and are only houses of research, learning or knowledge generation. We beg to differ.

The University of Pretoria has the potential to be a major tourist destination in Pretoria and within the Greater Tshwane region, attracting tourists to the UP Museums, UP Campus Tours, Sci-Enza, Javett-UP and Future Africa among others. Rethinking tourism is a holistic concept that brings about transformation, serving society, accessibility and inclusivity. The lack of tourism in 2020, for example, moved the trajectory of the UP Museums to become the first university museums in South Africa to join Google Arts and Culture to make its collection globally accessible online.

We hope that the UP Museums serve as a tourism ambassador to the University of Pretoria. Globally and locally, we know tourism is slowly recovering - even if it is at a snail’s pace. This is demonstrated by increased audiences both domestically and internationally, as the museums have already welcomed over 11 000 visitors just this year.

At UP, everything is bottled into one, tourists can enjoy, experience and share their visit to the University of Pretoria. Here, they can explore the history, culture, art and heritage of a research institution. There is a virtuous balance between universities, communities, research, science, knowledge, museums and higher education as playing its part in growing the art and creative sector… why not the tourism industry?

Reframing and rebalancing university tourism education has immense potential for the future, and there is a great opportunity for the University of Pretoria to reposition and rethink its position within the local tourism sector.