Crocworld Conservation Centre on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast has seen an influx of visitors searching for a new kind of resident creature - the Pokémon .
Centre manager Martin Rodrigues said Crocworld decided to encourage more people to visit the park after discovering Crocworld hosts five "Poké stops" and one Poké "gym".
"We were surprised to notice that we were getting a lot of people coming to Crocworld because of Pokémon Go.
"We had people visiting from Durban, Merebank, Margate, Pietermaritzburg and even a father and son stopped in on their way to Johannesburg," Rodrigues said.
Henry, a Nile Crocodile, is one of the Poké stops, which means gamers get to view the reptile while collecting sought-after Pokémon supplies, Rodrigues added.
Durban's Botanical Gardens has also seen a boost in visitors since thousands of South Africans downloaded the app last month.
"There is definitely an increase in visitors. The only negative is that they are so busy on their phones they are not taking in their environment," said the garden's Kerry Phillips.
Adam Oxford of tech website htxt.Africa said there was a huge interest in the game from businesses, but many could not use Pokémon Go to their full advantage as the game was still unofficial in South Africa.
Although Pokémon Go has only been released in Australia, New Zealand and the US, the animated creatures can be found in South Africa as the app uses Google Maps to work.
Oxford said businesses were cashing in on the phenomenon.
"Recently, an unofficial event took place at Montecasino. Management couldn't stop it. Mugg & Bean saw the business potential and offered a promotion for all Pokémon Go players. There were 600 people there for the event."
Technology market research firm World Wide Worx founder Arthur Goldstuck said businesses should be "promoting their locations as desirable destinations" on the game.
"South African businesses are still blissfully unaware of Pokémon Go. Numerous potential tourist hot spots and shopping malls could benefit if they got the word out," Goldstuck said.
VIA - timeslive.co.za
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