Building on this year’s Street View for South Africa launch in June, Google will be adding a further 19 local wineries to the global imagery database. This will include leading wineries such as Vergelegen, Thelema Mountain Vineyards and Villiera.

 

Street View adds another dimension to Google Maps, with 360 degree street-level images taken by the Google cars and trikes, allowing Google users to view and navigate through wine estates, vineyards, historic buildings and gardens on their computers or via their compatible mobile devices. 

 

Google is also running a hands-on training workshop for Cape wine farms, focusing on how Google’s geo tools can improve their online presence.

 

“With the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it is important to keep the momentum going, and continue to showcase what South Africa - and particularly Cape Town - can offer as a tourist destination. The expansion of winelands imagery on Street View will no doubt encourage local and international tourists to come and explore this part of the country further” says Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, chief executive officer of Cape Town.

 

“The local launches of Google Maps and Street View reflect Google’s investment in South Africa, as well as our commitment to making the Internet more useful and relevant to South Africans.  Street View also shows South Africa’s heritage to the world, ranging from the winelands to the Kruger National Park,” says Julie Taylor, communications manager for Google South Africa.

 

Richard Cheary of Afrozaar, a mobile and web solutions company, sees the marketing capabilities of Google’s geo products expanding.  “Google Maps and Street View capabilities provide a powerful platform to be creative, for example, the creation of downloadable virtual tourism tours incorporating multimedia. This can be complemented by mobile applications, comprising travel directions and preloaded tourist information.” 

 

Google Street view certainly adds another dimension to navigation around South African cities and popular tourist routes, but also gives businesses a new opportunity to list themselves and make their presence known using this new platform.