South African Tourism and Netflix have partnered on a mutually beneficial project.
The agreement will allow for exploration and collaboration on projects in South Africa and in key source markets that drive international arrivals to the country.
Since Netflix’s launch in South Africa in 2016, the company has dedicated itself to investing in original and licensed content that is made in South Africa and brings the diverse stories to the world.
The service is available to 204 million members in 190 countries across the world and showcases South African culture, fashion, music, art, scenery and languages through stories made in South Africa by local and international creators.
You would have seen it in Netflix original series like Queen Sono, Blood & Water, How To Ruin Christmas: The Wedding, Kings of Joburg and films like Seriously Single and Oscar-nominated nature documentary My Octopus Teacher.
Netflix has also brought stories from other parts of the world that were filmed in South Africa, like the films Holiday in the Wild and Last Days of American Crime as well as global Netflix series, Sacred Games, The Crown, Black Mirror and Kissing Booth (1 and 2), which has a positive economic impact in the country.
The partnership will also see SA Tourism working closely with Netflix in promoting the country’s must-visit sights, through its locally-produced series, to international markets.
Sisa Ntshona, the SA Tourism chief executive, said: “As we continue to lure the world to our beautiful country in these trying times, we have to look at non-traditional tourism partnerships as a source of driving arrivals.
“Netflix reaches millions of eyeballs globally, and by working closely with Netflix, we are able to latch onto a massive opportunity to influence the audience to think more closely about South Africa and thus convincing them to visit our country.
“We have 11 global country offices and there will always be opportunities for our international offices in key source markets to latch onto opportunities to showcase South Africa through the title Netflix launch."
Netflix director of content in Africa Ben Amadasun said 204 million viewers connected with new worlds through stories from South Africa and across the globe during the pandemic.
“Storytelling is a powerful tool that can foster connection and understanding while creating greater affinity towards a culture or place. That’s a big responsibility, and at Netflix, we don’t take that lightly.
“It’s why we value this important collaboration with SA Tourism as it will help us create more opportunities to support local creatives as they showcase the beauty of South Africa through their stories delivered to millions of entertainment fans around the world on Netflix,” he said.