Local Web site Tour2.0, a platform that connects local tour guides with holiday-makers, now offers packages throughout the country.
Launched in 2014, the company previously only had Johannesburg offerings.
The Web site offers holiday activities tourists would not find traditionally, and allows them to experience it through local eyes.
New experiences include a walking tour through the Bo-Kaap, a suburb in Cape Town. It is led by a local who takes tourists to the best place to sample traditional Cape Malay cooking, including people's private homes. It ends with a cooking class.
Another new tour takes tourists to the Richtersveld Community Conservancy, on the border of Namibia, where Nama people still live. The tour is three days long and a person from the conservatory shows visitors the traditional lifestyle of the Nama people.
Daniel Adidwa, founder and CEO, says the company was launched because it wanted to offer something other than the 'cookie-cutter' type of tourist attractions.
"Tour2.0 brings together tourists and communities. Drawing on the rich knowledge and experiences of the people within the heart of the community, its guides provide an authentic view of some of South Africa's most sought-after tourist spots," says Adidwa.
Tour2.0 does not employ any tour guides; instead they have to apply to have their packages displayed on the site and Tour2.0 will take a portion of the fee.
Adidwa says each tour guide and package is assessed before it is allowed on the site. To be uploaded to the site, the guides have to prove they are knowledgeable and that the community will be involved somehow. An employee of Tour2.0 will go on the proposed tour before it is accepted.
"We believe we are gaining traction because we have made it simpler for visitors to discover and book authentic local experiences and because all the experiences on our platform are vetted according to our rigorous standards," says Adidwa.
The company hopes to expand to other regions in Southern Africa next year.
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