THE GREAT FISH Point Lighthouse near Port Alfred has been opened to the public. The lighthouse is one of eight that have been turned into tourist attractions through the launch of SALATO Tourism Venture of Lighthouse Services, a business unit of the National Ports Authority of South Africa. General Manager for Maritime Services, Mvikeli Matutu says “the tourism opportunities for this new business venture have been identified and the development and utilisation of existing resources is being used to realise this enormous potential and to take advantage of the concept of Lighthouse Tourism”. Matutu says that “this venture will be known as the SA Lighthouse Adventure Tour Operations (SALATO) and will be managed by Lighthouse Services. It will be a tour operating business specialising in Lighthouse tours that will include visits, lodging and board & lodging at lighthouses”. The main objective is to develop the lighthouses and existing facilities in South Africa as attractive and sought-after tourist destinations. This will be done by utilising lighthouses and related infrastructure, which will not only benefit this business unit of NPA, but will also have spin-offs for the towns and local communities; also that of the regions and hopefully contribute to the country’s job creation initiatives. The services offered would range from a guided tour of a lighthouse - with the option of purchasing memorabilia and refreshments to spending time at a lighthouse in a fully equipped, self-catering cottage and experiencing the every day running of that lighthouse. Two of the other seven lighthouses – at Cape St. Blaize (Mossel Bay), and North Sand Bluff (Port Edward) are on the borders of the Eastern Cape. The other four are at Cape Columbine on the West Coast, Green Point (Cape), Slangkoppunt (Kommetjie), Danger Point (Gansbaai) and Port Shepstone.