Tourism

Hoedspruit Airport’s potential is to be developed.

Sector Insight

The IDC offers incentives for tourism operators to go green.

Of the 78 000 passengers that landed at Hoedspruit Airport in 2022, 61 000 of them were European tourists. With CemAir offering flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town and Airlink connecting to destinations such as the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Maun in Botswana and Vilanculo in Mozambique, the strategically located airport, sometimes called Eastgate Airport, has enormous potential to further increase tourist traffic to the eastern part of the province.

The airport is conveniently sited for access to the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park, Klaserie Game Reserve, Timbavati Game Reserve, Thornybush Game Reserve and several others. The Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety is working on a strategy to develop the airport in such a way as to boost the tourism sector.

The Industrial Development Corporation is active in the tourism sector in Limpopo. Among its products is the Green Tourism Incentive Programme which incentivises privately owned tourism companies to move towards using renewable energy and efficient water utilisation. It also supports local economic development, such as initiatives in the north of the province to develop new hotels in the Musina area.

The northern parts of the province are experiencing a boom in business tourism due to the uptick in mining operations and the preparations being made for the development of a major economic development in the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone.

In another part of the Vhembe District Municipality, the African Century Group is building a four-star Premier Hotel at Thohoyandou and the team behind the venture expects to fill its 120 rooms. The Vhembe District has a host of attractions and is connected to the

Online Resources

Limpopo Tourism Agency: www.golimpopo.com

Marula Festival: www.limpopomarulafest.co.za

South African National Parks: www.sanparks.org northern section of the Kruger National Park via the Punda Maria gate. Elsewhere in the district are sacred lakes, the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site and many baobab trees of legend.

In the Waterberg area, Shekinah Lion and Game Lodge has made an initial investment of R60-million in a luxury ecotourism which offers walks with cheetahs among its many attractions.

The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) is responsible for 53 provincial nature reserves. Some Limpopo nature reserves are to be commercialised using privatepublic partnerships. Among the first reserves to be part of the programme are Masebe, Rust de Winter and Lekgalameetse.

Three major national parks – Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe in the north and Marakele in the Waterberg – are run by South African National Parks (SANParks) and attract large numbers of tourists every year. The province’s private game reserves and lodges enjoy a reputation for luxury and excellence of service that attracts tens of thousands of international visitors.

The combined land area of Limpopo’s national, provincial and private game and nature reserves is 3.6-million hectares. ■