Tech giant Google has agreed to work with the South Africa Government to remove routes through known crime spots from its Google Maps navigation app.
It has also signed a collaboration agreement with the Department of Tourism to help promote South Africa as a ‘safe’ tourist destination and boost visitor numbers.
The agreement follows brutal attacks on tourists last year, including British doctor Kar Hao Teoh who was shot dead in the notorious Nyanga township in Cape Town when he was trying to find an alternative route to the main N2 highway during a taxi strike.
An American couple is suing Google after they were attacked in Nyanga after Google Maps directed them on a shortcut through the township as they were travelling from Cape Town to the international airport.
The UK Foreign Office states in its travel advice for South Africa that tourist should ‘be careful when following GPS navigation’. It adds: “You should avoid taking…
