As World Tourism Day celebrates ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation’ on 27 September, so Eswatini, African’s Newest Country, has embraced the theme and launched a brand new, cutting-edge tourism website to help promote and inform about the amazing range of great attractions that this small, beautiful and charming African Kingdom offers to its visitors: www.thekingdomofeswatini.com
2018 has been a momentous year for the country as it not only celebrated 50 years of Independence and the 50th birthday of King Mswati III but also changed its name from Swaziland to Eswatini. It was time for a new website to showcase the country’s varied attractions and give visitors easy access to all the information and contacts they need to explore and discover the charms of Africa’s Newest Country.
Eswatini is a microcosm of the best that Africa has to offer: stunning scenery, rich culture and Big 5 safaris (including perhaps the best rhino experiences on the continent), yet it remains relatively little visited. The new site will make it even easier for even more visitors to discover the country’s riches and plan their trips.
The website has comprehensive information on all the country’s Locations and Experiences, extensive interlinking of pages, a detailed and up to date Travel Guide section and full Directory listings for all types of tourism operator in the country, as well as international operators selling holidays to Eswatini. Most exciting is a new, high powered accommodation filter that allows users to search all of Eswatini’s accommodation by a variety of criteria – enabling them to find full details and contacts for the properties just right for them. A header-based filter gives instant access to relevant activities and accommodation, a news & blog section will be updated through the week and a range of additional digital downloads are also available from the site.
Widespread maps show users just where to find attractions and accommodation, and the innovative pin-point What3Words addresses have been added to make navigation even easier. The website is mobile-friendly and compatible across all devices, making it perfect as a resource for tourists to learn about the country and find important information on-the-go. Content continues to be added to the site and will be continuously monitored and updated to ensure that users and visitors have the very latest information and advice at their fingertips.
Bongani Dlamini, Marketing manager for the Eswatini Tourism Authority was thrilled to see the new site launch as part of a new push for tourism under the new country name: “The new site has been developed using the latest technologies and after extensive consultation, analysis of current user expectations and detailed planning, to ensure that the best and most effective tourism site was created for Eswatini. The aim is to give the user the best experience possible and an easy online journey to all the resources they need to be able to discover and explore the Kingdom’s attractions. As the country transitions to its new identity, we’re very excited to see this digital transformation give a great boost to Eswatini’s tourism.”
More About Eswatini
Africa in a nutshell. It may be a cliché but there is no better way to describe Eswatini. Almost surrounded by South Africa but also bordering Mozambique, it’s a country that could easily be overlooked, but this tiny nation – one of Africa’s last monarchies – packs in an extraordinary variety of riches. Nature lovers can track down rhinos in the wild lowveld or seek out rare birds in the rugged highveld. Historians can visit the world’s oldest known mine at Ngwenya or follow the colonial trail of the early settlers. And culture vultures can thrill to the Umhlanga and other festivals, as Eswatini celebrates its ancient traditions in spectacular style. Activities ranging from horse riding and river rafting to golf and thermal spas offer excitement and relaxation in equal measure. What’s more, Eswatini is friendly, safe and so compact that nowhere is more than two hours’ easy drive from the capital.
