Heritage tourism in a city of legends

Since the end of apartheid, much has been made of the Eastern Cape as the home of the founding fathers of African nationalism and of the great intellectual traditions stemming from the early mission stations, which produced the constitutional traditions of the ANC. The province has embraced this history and called itself the home of legends, and yet it is still the prehistoric coelacanth fish which remains an abiding pre-occupation at the East London Museum that prevails in the city's memorialisation of its own past. In 2019, as part of an ongoing collaboration, the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency (BCMDA) asked the HSRC to help re-evaluate its museums and heritage infrastructure to boost tourism.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Human Science Research Council SA
Published
2026-05-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14749/32379363
Primary Topic
South African History and Culture
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Heritage tourism in a city of legends

Human Sciences Research Council
Human Science Research Council SA
South African History and Culture
article

Heritage tourism in a city of legends

Human Sciences Research Council
article en

Abstract

Since the end of apartheid, much has been made of the Eastern Cape as the home of the founding fathers of African nationalism and of the great intellectual traditions stemming from the early mission stations, which produced the constitutional traditions of the ANC. The province has embraced this history and called itself the home of legends, and yet it is still the prehistoric coelacanth fish which remains an abiding pre-occupation at the East London Museum that prevails in the city's memorialisation of its own past. In 2019, as part of an ongoing collaboration, the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency (BCMDA) asked the HSRC to help re-evaluate its museums and heritage infrastructure to boost tourism.

Human Science Research Council SA
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
South African History and Culture
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Heritage tourism in a city of legends — Human Sciences Research Council · Human Science Research Council SA (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS