A leader in tourism

The Limpopo Tourism Agency is working hard to position the province’s natural and cultural marvels to attract increasing numbers of tourists.

Limpopo Province continues to be one of the major recipients of tourism arrivals from South Africa’s core international markets given its broad tourism product offerings and appeal.

Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Limpopo Province was the leading destination in terms of arrivals and spend in the domestic tourism space.

The most recent statistical release by Statistics South Africa shows that in 2020 the Eastern Cape received 18.2% and became the mostvisited destination for overnight trips followed by Limpopo with 18.0%.

In 2021, the most-visited province was Limpopo with 20.3% followed by Gauteng at 15.1%. The report also states that Limpopo continued to be the leading province in the first 10 months of the year in which the report was compiled, 2022.

This speedy recovery can be attributed to the partnership efforts that the Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) embarked on with the private sector. This initiative continues to provide visitors to destination Limpopo with the memorable experiences that they will treasure for a long time.

This was perfectly in line with the Agency’s vision of becoming a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa.

Tourism mandate

The LTA’s mandate is to carry out destination marketing with an emphasis on domestic tourism and inbound tourism marketing until things have completely returned to normality.

The LTA falls under the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) and aims to position Limpopo as a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa. The Agency’s strategic outcomes are:

• effective and efficient administrative support in the organisation

• to provide efficient and effective human resources support services

• to provide efficient and effective finance and support services

• to initiate product development, tourism investment, strategic partnerships and provide quality hospitality services

• to position Limpopo as a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa

The Limpopo Marula Festival has proved a great success over the years, not only drawing international audiences but promoting local culture and small businesses.

Clusters

Planning that has been done within the LTA is aligned to the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS), the Limpopo Tourism Growth Strategy (LTGS) and the Limpopo Development Plan. For the purposes of achieving its vision of making Limpopo a leading tourism destination in Southern Africa, LTA reviewed its clusters, bearing in mind the unique wildlife offerings in the megaconservation areas of the province. The tourism clusters are as follows:

• Culture and Heritage Cluster

• Family and Recreation Cluster

• Sport and Wildlife Cluster

• Safari and Hunting Cluster

• Business and Events Cluster

• Special Interest Cluster

LTA has identified events in the province as key to driving people from one place to another.

Key flagship events in the province include the following:

• Limpopo Golf Championship in April 2023. Linked to this was the Youth Golf Championship that took place on 29 June 2023 at Koro Creek, Modimolle.

• Partnerships with all existing events in the province such as Limpopo Marula Festival that took place in April 2023 in Phalaborwa.

• The Agency participated in trade shows such as World Travel Market (WTM) Africa in April 2023, Cape Town, followed by Africa’s Travel Indaba in May 2023 in Durban.

• LTA hosted Limpopo Tourism Youth Summit in Burgersfort on 22-23 June 2023.

• LTA participated in the national launch of Tourism Month on 1 August 2023 in North West Province. The provincial launch of World Tourism Day took place on 16 August 2023 in the Waterberg District.

• Phalaphala FM Royal Heritage Festival in Vhembe District.

• Mapungubwe Cultural Festival in to be held in Polokwane in December 2023.

• Summer Campaign launch and concomitant activations.

• Holiday Fair on 24-26 August 2023.

• Other events in various districts of the province.

Tel: +27 15 293 3600

Email: info@golimpopo.com

Website: www.golimpopo.com