Soccer fans visiting South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup can look to Google Maps to check out the country’s tourist attactions, if that is their goal.
In a blog post today, Google says FIFA and South African Tourism are using Google Maps to provide Street View, 3D views, Earth Views and other details about host cities, stadiums and area tourist attractions.
Here’s a Google Map of the Tshwane/Pretoria area:
Click on Loftus Versfeld Stadium, one of the oldest in South Africa, and you can drill down to a Street View like this:
And there is a link also to get more information from FIFA about the stadium.
The map lists only two tourist attractions in Tshwane/Pretoria, the Pretoria Art Museum and Voortrekker Monument.
For each there are links to South African Tourism for more information.
Here’s some editorial from South African Tourism about Voortrekker Monument, and alongside it are links to a travel directory, where visitors can find information about the Lalibela Game Reserve, for instance, and fill out a form requesting more information about a stay.
While some of the Earth Views are spectacular, overall the maps mashup isn’t all that inspiring from a tourism perspective.
But, then again, fans visiting South Africa for the World Cup probably have plenty of on-field distractions to keep them busy.
Thanks for a great article Dennis. I agree, the Tourism mashup could have been a little more “inspiring”, but at least now we have Street View here in South Africa. I’m really enjoying finding interesting and funny Street View images in South Africa, and have now setup a small website to share these at http://www.360streetview.co.za .
Visitors can vote on their favorites, and submit their own finds on Google Street View South Africa.
John: Yup, the street views are cool. I wonder if they are running during the competitions.