[imagesource: YouTube / Wesgro Promoting Cape Town and Western Cape]

Quite a lot of creative power is going into rebuilding the Mother City’s tourism industry after the wretched COVID-19 spell.

South African Tourism released a heartwarming travel video that included some mesmerising scenes from Cape Town, and then Cape Town Tourism launched a fascinating video game-like immersive travel experience.

Following hot on those heels, Wesgro – the Western Cape trade and tourism agency – has just added a trick to the mix.

The agency has created a series of educational, nature-themed children’s games, one of which is called ‘Climb Table Mountain‘, wherein players get to be immersed in the icon’s beauty while also learning about the city and its biodiversity:

Wesgro said via TimesLIVE that about a third of US parents allow their children to choose the family’s holiday destination, so the hope is that by playing the game, children will be inspired to cross over into reality and visit our shores.

The game has been posted on Roblox, a gaming platform that reportedly has more than 54 million daily active users, per Ventureburn, many of them Americans under the age 16:

As children of millennials, “Generation Alpha” – or those born after 2010 – are completely digitally native, and tech-enabled from a young age. Roblox cleverly captures this market with immersive gaming experiences.

Image: Wesgro/Roblox

“The world is changing, and we’re ready to meet that change,” says Wrenelle Stander, the chief executive of Wesgro.

“With immersive digital experiences already creating a captive audience, our game will allow kids to learn about the incredible biodiversity of the province. This includes learning about our national flower, the King Protea, and over 1 460 different species of plants, 300 of which are highly endangered. On the fauna side, special attention will be given to species such as the Leopard Frog and tortoise, dassies and the elusive Cape fox.”

The team has plans to allow players to explore more of South Africa, including the beaches and kelp forests of the Garden Route, as well as the wonderous landscape and skyscape of the Cederberg.

This is certainly one way to put our country firmly on the map, digital or otherwise.

[sources:timeslive&ventureburn]