Battlefield tourism in the South African context

According to Moeller (2005:2) Battlefield tourism in South Africa has increasingly grown in the past decade, especially in Kwazulu-Natal and the Northern Cape. Rising tourist numbers at battlefield sites in Kwazulu Natal such as Isandlwana, Rorke‟s Drift, Blood River, Spionkop and many battlefields near Kimberley on the well marked N12 route has encouraged government to invest in these sites. Armed conflict plays an important role in any countries history and identity as it is those events that shape a countries future and mould its psyche. Battlefields have long held a fascination for those who survived them and inspired the imagination of latter generations. Such sites are often a place of remembrance for those who fell where historically many countries future course had been decided. For many visiting such sites, curiosity plays a big role. Driving forces behind battlefield tourism is the need to understand better, to experience the sensation of the place and to stand in the shoes of those who were there. In a utopian world battlefields would be preserved for the sake of their historic significance to a particular ethic group or nation. Unfortunately the economic realities of limited government budgets frequently results in sites being neglected, damaged or literally erode with the passage of time. Battlefield tourism offers a commercial solution to preserving these historic sites being lost through the passage of time. It allows for the profitable use of the surrounding lands and economic empowerment of the local people as can be seen at the sites mentioned above. The particular focus of this article is the role that battlefield tourism can play in South African as a tool for understanding the past and its future development.