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Know someone who is travelling to our country soon?
Tourists who want the “full South African experience”?
Why not send them to Emoya Luxury Hotel & Spar where they can stay in a fake informal settlement for a quarter of what the average south African earns a month?
In case you’re not exactly sure what a shanty is, the company’s website describes it as: “A Shanty usually consists of old corrugated iron sheets or any other waterproof material which is constructed in such a way to form a small "house" or shelter where they make a normal living. A paraffin lamp, candles, a battery operated radio, an outside toilet (also referred to as a long drop) and a drum where they make fire for cooking is normally part of this lifestyle.”
According to this story on Gizmodo, tourists can experience all the joys of rural living in a mini shanty town while still enjoying under-floor heating and wireless internet access.
So what will all of this cost? Just R850 for four nights - for an average South African who earns around R3 000 per month, this would be a quarter of their salary.
According to Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson property group, SA has the highest Gini coefficient in the world with only 10% of the population earning more than 50% of the household income. The average farm worker earns R100 rand a day, while high level professionals earning around R3 000 a day.
I don’t know. Perhaps I am over thinking this marketing gimmick, but the whole idea of creating an informal settlement for tourists is a bit insensitive to me. Okay, a lot intensive. Especially since poverty, clean sanitation, water resources and housing are huge issues within South Africa.
If tourists want to really experience the South Africa we live in, show them real shacks. Show them the people who are forced to live in them because they have no other option. The people who lose everything because of flooding or fires. Let tourists go to ‘eKasi to experience true loxion culture.
Because, it’s not only about in what some South Africans live in, it’s also about the people, their cultures and their lifestyle.
Eish!
Images sourced from the Emoya Hotel & Spar’s Facebook page.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Tourists who want the “full South African experience”?
Why not send them to Emoya Luxury Hotel & Spar where they can stay in a fake informal settlement for a quarter of what the average south African earns a month?
In case you’re not exactly sure what a shanty is, the company’s website describes it as: “A Shanty usually consists of old corrugated iron sheets or any other waterproof material which is constructed in such a way to form a small "house" or shelter where they make a normal living. A paraffin lamp, candles, a battery operated radio, an outside toilet (also referred to as a long drop) and a drum where they make fire for cooking is normally part of this lifestyle.”
According to this story on Gizmodo, tourists can experience all the joys of rural living in a mini shanty town while still enjoying under-floor heating and wireless internet access.
So what will all of this cost? Just R850 for four nights - for an average South African who earns around R3 000 per month, this would be a quarter of their salary.
According to Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson property group, SA has the highest Gini coefficient in the world with only 10% of the population earning more than 50% of the household income. The average farm worker earns R100 rand a day, while high level professionals earning around R3 000 a day.
I don’t know. Perhaps I am over thinking this marketing gimmick, but the whole idea of creating an informal settlement for tourists is a bit insensitive to me. Okay, a lot intensive. Especially since poverty, clean sanitation, water resources and housing are huge issues within South Africa.
If tourists want to really experience the South Africa we live in, show them real shacks. Show them the people who are forced to live in them because they have no other option. The people who lose everything because of flooding or fires. Let tourists go to ‘eKasi to experience true loxion culture.
Because, it’s not only about in what some South Africans live in, it’s also about the people, their cultures and their lifestyle.
Eish!
Images sourced from the Emoya Hotel & Spar’s Facebook page.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
