PHOTO: The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, where ferries take off for tours of Robben Island. (photo by David Cogswell)

Just weeks after his death, the South African tourism industry is mobilizing to create tours to properly present the life story of Nelson Mandela, its most influential leader ever.

Without Mandela, the vibrant tourism industry in South Africa today might not exist. The fall of the apartheid regime and the resulting opening of the country to the world came about through the combined efforts of countless people. 

But most South Africans believe that without Mandela’s leadership, without him bringing his moral authority to bear, the change could not have been brought about without a brutal and possibly extended civil war.

“Nelson Mandela single-handedly put South Africa on the map for billions of people around the world,” said Thulani Nzima, CEO of South African Tourism. “Mandela opened up our beautiful country, once a pariah state, to the rest of the world and his name alone has attracted millions of tourists to South Africa every year, wanting to walk in his footsteps.”

It takes little effort to see the historical legacy of Mandela in South Africa. He is lauded and memorialized throughout the country. But for those who want to dig deeper into his legacy and his personal history, there are tour operators who offer programs designed expressly for that purpose.

Shortly before Mandela’s death Dec. 5, 2013, South African Airways Vacations, the tour operator of the airline, introduced a new tour program that ties in with the new Nelson Mandela biopic “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” which was based on Mandela’s autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom.”

The package, titled “Mandela’s Journey to Freedom,” is a 10-day tour that traces some aspects of Mandela’s life.

It includes a cultural tour of some townships in the Cape Town area; a tour of Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for most of his 27 years as a political prisoner; visits to the Hector Pieterson Museum and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg; and a visit to the military headquarters of the African National Congress, Mandela’s political party.

Deluxe accommodations are provided at the Protea Hotel Victoria Junction in Cape Town, and the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice in Johannesburg’s Melrose Arch. The package is priced from $2,599 per person including air from the U.S.

“As a South African, I’m incredibly proud to introduce the ‘Mandela’s Journey to Freedom’ vacation package in conjunction with the release of this important movie,” said Terry von Guilleaume, president of SAA Vacations. “We’ve taken great care to include those places where key moments of Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid struggle took place, including Liliesleaf, where the infamous raid was carried out; as well as Robben Island, where you visit his prison cell and can imagine the isolation that prisoners felt.

"We’re also very excited about the release of the film ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,’ and are proud to have also partnered with the film’s distributors, The Weinstein Company, to raise funds to benefit the Nelson Mandela Foundation.”

African Travel is offering a program called Walk in the Footsteps of Nelson Mandela, which combines a tracing of his footsteps with a safari in the bush.

The itinerary includes a visit to a township in the Cape Town area with encounters with local residents shops, a local bar, and a visit with a traditional Xhosa healer; a tour of Robben Island; a lesson in playing the djembe drum; and a “taste safari” of African cuisine.

The eight-day program is priced from $3,565 per person, including three nights accommodations in Cape Town; two nights in Johannesburg; and two nights in Karongwe Private Game Reserve.

Great Safaris is offering a Mandela themed tour called Madiba’s Journey: In Nelson Mandela’s Footprints. The program includes an exploration of parts of Cape Town that figure particularly into Mandela’s life story, such as Robben Island, Parliament, City Hall and Grand Parade.

The tour also visits Soweto, Vilakazi Street, Nelson Mandela House Museum, Kliptown, the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and Lilies Leaf. The package is priced from $3,495 double occupancy, land only.