Google Street View to be launched in Botswana to help boost a “rapidly growing tourism industry”

Google Street view is a technology that shows people a photograph of the exact location they are searching for on Google maps, helping them getting a better view of their future destination or it can also be used as a simple curiosity to see what’s happening in other cities, other countries (for example: you can try to google a street view of the well-known Art House Tacheles in Berlin and the picture of the building will appear).

These photographs are taken by cars, which are equipped with one-of-a-kind cameras (see picture below).

These cars photograph an area while driving through.

A Google Street View car at tech fair CeBIT in Germany earlier this year. Picture: AFP

This Google functionality, which was launched in 2006, already exists in more than 30 countries and it will be launched in Botswana by about seven months.

This is the second country that will use this functionality in Africa, the 1^st one already using it being South Africa (since 2009).

• What will it change for Botswana?

This country is known for being a diamond exporter and more precisely for being a destination for safaris where tourists can admire the wildlife.

The officials count on Google Street View to boost the destination in order to become a destination of choice for tourists.

“The service will feature images of streets and landscapes in capital Gaborone, second city Francistown, and tourist destinations such as the Kalahari Desert, wildlife-flush Chobe National Park and the Makgadikgadi salt pans, officials said.” (Retrieved from the attached article; see link below)

This technology featuring panoramic street-level images could be seen as a marketing tool to bring more tourists to the destination and this way increase its economy in terms of tourism and not only with diamond exportation.

“Tourism currently makes up around 10 percent of Botswana's $14.9-billion (11.2-billion-euro) economy. Diamond sales, the country's boom industry, make up about one-third.” (Retrieved from the attached article; see link below)

• Launching a technology in a country where the Internet access is limited: how will Botswana deal with this situation?

Nowadays, people don’t go on the internet only with their computers but also with new technologies like PDA or tablets (like iPads) and as the access to the Internet is often effectuated through Smartphones, Google spokeswoman for Sub-Saharan Africa Julie Taylor said they are working on developing collaborations with mobile network companies in order to improve the mobile coverage in the area.

Moreover, Internet helps promoting a destination, not only with Google Street view, but also on social networks or websites, the country could get notoriety thanks to feedbacks or ads and this way develop its activities and services if they get to attract more tourists due to its promotion and development on the web.

Google Street View can be seen then not only as a marketing tool, but also as a releaser which could enhance the implementation of other internet strategies to help developing tourism in countries such as Botswana.

Finally, the country could maybe become keen on technologies if tourists come to the area with smartphones, Officials may want to develop an app helping visitors experience safaris in an unique way, why not?

Retrieved from IC Publications "Google Street View to launch in Botswana"
http://www.africasia.com/services/news_africa/article.php?ID=CNG.72ca66ee1a4afc263528e0bb35442cac.151