SA Tourism (South African Tourism) and Netflix, have agreed to explore joint opportunities that will benefit both organizations to showcase stories made in South Africa. The agreement will allow for exploration and collaboration on projects both 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 productions (original and licensed content) that are made in South Africa and bringing these unique and diverse stories to the world. Going forward, the partnership between Netflix and SA Tourism will explore various opportunities and initiatives that will go towards showcasing South Africa, not only to South African audiences but also to global members of Netflix.
To date, the streaming service has released a diverse slate of content from South Africa across different genres including Netflix original series like Queen Sono, Blood & Water, and most recently; the Oscar-nominated nature documentary My Octopus Teacher and Netflix’s first original stand-up show, Loyiso Gola’s Unlearning.
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.
These stories that transcend beyond Mzansi borders, the local creative industry has benefitted, on and off screen, from the opportunity to showcase their art and talent on a global stage. Each production resulted in the support for local businesses and entrepreneurs – the full supply chain of creating a show includes local stylists, make-up artists, etc – which ultimately leads to a positive economic impact in the country.
“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,” explains Sisa Ntshona, CEO at SA Tourism. “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,” adds Ntshona.
“This past year, when entertainment mattered more than ever, our 204 million members around the world connected with new worlds, and most importantly with each other, through stories from South Africa and across the globe,” says Ben Amadasun, Netflix Director of Content in Africa.
“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,” adds Amadasun.
Comments
comments