Pretoria — The Department of Tourism is to launch the fifth and final Visitor Information Centre in Nelspruit next week.

The final centre, located in Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency premises, is to be launched by Deputy Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa on 30 November.

These centres, already opened in Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Bloemfontein, are intended to provide a one-stop information service to tourists on a wide range of aspects.

All the centres boast a locally developed information and reservation system tailored to cater for the South African market. Tourists can also get useful information on tours, vehicle hire, entertainment, dining, sports, adventure, shopping and travel tips among others.

The department said that the primary objective of the project was to effectively address the tourism needs of visitors expected to converge in the five host cities in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup and beyond.