Nieu Bethesda is an isolated community, far off South Africa’s main tourism routes. It forms part of the Camdeboo in the Eastern Cape Karoo that is identified by National Government as a poverty node and a designated tourism development node.

After government grants, tourism is the biggest contributor to the local economy. Most of the economically active members of the community, including the township, are involved in some way in tourism. Some offer accommodation, provide catering, cleaning, crafts, guiding, etc.

The Nieu Bethesda Community Tourism Organisation is a community association formed to market Nieu Bethesda as a quality tourism destination and to develop businesses from the previously disadvantaged community.

Around 1 000 residents make their home in Nieu Bethesda,. Sixty or so live in the central area and about 900 in the township extension, Pienaarsig.

Nieu Bethesda is home to a growing number of artists, crafters and other creative types seeking a more inspirational way of life.

Athol Fugard (1932-) is a playwright, novelist, actor and director, best known for his anti-apartheid plays. His most renowned plays, including “Boesman and Lena” and “Sizwe Bansi is Dead”, have been produced internationally. Fugard found inspiration in Nieu- Bethesda and several of his plays were written there. “The Road to Mecca” (inspired by Helen Martin's Owlhouse), "Valley Song”and his latest play, "Coming Home", are based in Nieu-Bethesda.

Palaeontologist James Kitching (1922–2003) was considered one of the world’s best fossil finders. Kitching grew up in Nieu Bethesda, where his father was a road gang supervisor. At the tender age of 6, he discovered a passion for fossil hunting when he accompanied his father to road workings. James used to explore the countryside around Nieu Bethesda collecting specimens for Robert Broom, the keeper of vertebrate palaeontology at the South African Museum in Cape Town.

Kitching was the first member of staff to be appointed to the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, set up at the University of Witwatersrand in 1945. He returned to the Graaff-Reinet district and made countless contributions to the Karoo palaeontology collection, earning a doctorate and international recognition.

The Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre in Nieu Bethesda, named after him, displays fossils found in Nieu Bethesda and the surrounding Sneeuberge.

Prof. Bruce Rubidge is director of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research at the University of the Witwatersrand. Bruce inherited his passion for fossils from his grandfather, Dr. Sidney Rubidge, who farmed at Wellwood, 20km from Nieu Bethesda, where he established the world's largest private fossil collection.

Prof. Rubidge is an authority on mammal-like reptiles of the Karoo Basin.

Princess Irene Emma Elisabeth of the Netherlands (1939-) is the sister of current Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix. In 1999, the nature-loving royal bought a farm outside of Nieu Bethesda and turned it into a sanctuary.

Princess Irene was educated in Canada during the Dutch royalty’s exile during World War II. As a teenager, she was considered glamorous by the Dutch press. The princess caused controversy when she converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism and married the Spanish Duke of Parma in 1964. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1981.

The princess returned to The Netherlands after her divorce and personal development and pursued her love of nature. In 1995, Princess Irene published her book called ‘Dialogue with Nature’.

"My sculptures feed off the nostalgia of innocent times, lost in thought or activity. Sometimes they even embody the thoughts or pictures born in a moment – but every piece has meaning. To me, at least, they speak.”