The Umbilo Shree Ambalavaanar Alayam Temple in Durban. The murtis on the temple roof were crafted by artisans from India. All the work was done at the temple site.
FORGET the Big Five: South Africa's sacred sites could unlock a new tourism economy
While the country has marketed its wildlife and diverse landscapes for decades, experts believe the next big tourism opportunity may be found somewhere less wild; inside its churches, temples, mosques and sacred landscapes.
Researchers at North-West University believe the country's extraordinary religious diversity could become a tourism attraction in its own right; not just by drawing visitors to individual sacred sites, but by creating pathways between different faiths and communities.
Dr Walter Wessels, from the Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society (TREES) research unit at North-West University, is part of SacredTravels4Growth, an Erasmus+ initiative funded by the European Union.
