Tourism

OVERVIEW Tourism

The Mpumalanga Liberation Heritage Route has been launched.

Kruger National Park is Mpumalanga’s most famous tourism asset. Other notable landmarks include God’s Window and the Blyde River Canyon but the province’s newest asset is ancient.

A three-billion-year-old micro-fossil found in the Makhonjwa Mountains near Barberton and the border with Swaziland is thought to be the oldest sign of life on the planet. Now the Makhonjwa Mountains, themselves somewhere between 3.2-billion and 3.6-billion years old, have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational‚ Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The tourist offering near Barberton has been branded the Genesis Route.

This brings to 10 the number of World Heritage Sites in South Africa and opens up the possibility of a new type of niche tourism for Mpumalanga. Funds for conservation of the area will be made available from the World Heritage Fund.

Visitors to Graskop Gorge can now drop 50m into the gorge via a glass elevator which was built by Enza Construction. The R25-million Graskop Gorge Tourism Attraction Centre contains a 200-seater restaurant, an overhanging veranda, a ticket office, curio shops and an area for informal traders to sell their wares.

Although the province already caters for motor-rally enthusiasts, cyclists, runners, walkers, fishers, horse-riders, tree-gliders, abseilers, white-water rafters and rock climbers, there is still potential for more

SECTOR INSIGHT

Training programmes are empowering rural communities.

investment in the ecotourism and adventure tourism subsectors.

Another option for tourists was recently added to the province’s portfolio, the Mpumalanga Liberation Heritage Route.

Twenty-five young women from rural areas are receiving training in hospitality as part of the Hazyview Project, an offshoot of the Travel and Tourism Excellence Academy. The programme is jointly sponsored by Amadeus, a travel technology company, Economic Development Solutions and the Thebe Tourism Group.

Hazyview is near the Kruger National Park and the students are expected to be employed at a new hotel at Skukuza when they graduate. The Good Work Foundation (GWF) is running the programme at its Hazyview Digital Campus, in partnership with the South Africa College of Tourism.

The province has plans to attract international tourists from nearby and from far away. The tourist authorities of Swaziland and Mozambique have agreed to explore the possibilities of joint marketing through the TriLand Brand Initiative.

The provincial government department responsible for tourism is exploring opportunities via the BRICS initiative. It believes that visitor numbers from Russia could increase dramatically if a direct flight were introduced between Moscow and Mpumalanga.

Thebe Tourism has three projects in the province, the Kruger Shalati (a luxury train on the Selati Bridge), the Blyde Canyon Community Project and a proposed development for Lisbon Estate which is adjacent to the Kruger National Park. The Lisbon development is projected to comprise two hotels, retail, hospitality and dining facilities and staff housing associated with the Lisbon Estate.

At Blyde River Canyon, Thebe has signed an agreement with local communities with land claims in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve which will involve them as shareholders in the new developments. God’s Window is to receive a Skywalk, the facilities at Bourke’s Luck Potholes will be rejuvenated, a cable car project is planned for Three Rondavels and another hotel is planned to boost accommodation options in the area.

All of these projects have been registered with National Treasury as public-private partnerships. They are regarded as priority projects by the provincial government.

The Provincial Government of Mpumalanga is looking for more private partners to invest in a range of ambitious projects to boost an already active sector that has several superb tourism assets, ranging from the iconic Kruger National Park (one of about 70 parks and reserves) to bird-watching, music festivals, car rallies and casinos.

The provincial investment agency, MEGA, has packaged many tourism investment opportunities. The underlying principle in each

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

ONLINE RESOURCES

Mpumalanga Gaming Board: www.mgb.org.za Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency: www.mtpa.co.za South African National Parks: www.sanparks.co.za South African Tourism: www.southafrica.net South African Tourism Services Association: www.satsa.com case is a form of public-private partnership where the agency would assist in getting land-use and other legal requirements, and perhaps in seeing that basic infrastructure was laid on, then the developer would build and manage a tourism facility.

A transaction adviser has been appointed to flesh out these proposals for investable tourism products. An example of infrastructure investment from the government’s side is the upgrading of the Manyeleti Resort.

Other provincial plans regarding tourism involve promoting the province as a convention venue. A Convention Bureau has been established and the city of Mbombela is being encouraged to build a large centre.

Forever Resorts has a big presence in the province, catering to many caravans and campers and holiday-makers wanting to stay in chalets. There is also a four-star Forever Resorts Mount Sheba. The Graceland Hotel Casino and Country Club is a Peermont resort in Secunda.

Tsogo Sun has six hotels in the province, ranging from two StayEasys to Southern Sun The Ridge, which is attached to the Ridge Casino in Witbank (Emalahleni). Tsogo runs a further two resorts in Hazyview (Sabi River Sun Resort) and White River (Pine Lake Resort).

Protea Hotels by Marriott has three properties in Mpumalanga, including Protea Hotel Kruger Gate, Nelspruit and Hazyview. At White River, Premier Hotel The Winkler is 20 minutes’ drive from the Numbi Gate of the Kruger National Park.