Tourism

Sport and heritage tourism are new strategic sectors.

Pecanwood Golf & Country Club. Image: North West Tourism

The impact of Covid-19 will be felt for many months to come, and the tourism sector of the North West Province will be affected by the travel restrictions put in place in 2020.

A saving grace for the province is the extremely wide range of activities that are offered to a high standard. This makes it more likely that one or more of these subsectors will be in a position to lead a recovery. In almost any sector one can think of, North West has outstanding representatives. For example, Sun City (golf, conferencing and hotels) and several game lodges within both the Pilanesberg and Madikwe game reserves are internationally renowned. Birding, fishing, hunting and hot-air ballooning are among other popular pursuits and Potchefstroom has outstanding sporting facilities for a range of sports. Australia and Spain won the cricket and soccer world cups from their base in Potchefstroom and international athletes often visit the city for training camps.

The North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) is investing in the province’s 12 smaller parks with the intention of creating jobs. In partnership with the National Department of Tourism, work has begun on the Manyane Game Lodge in Mahikeng, with a budget allocation of R43-million. Another project envisages a mega-park in the northwestern sector of the province, the Heritage Park.

The Mahika-Mahikeng Cultural Festival continues to grow in popularity. Arts and culture development centres (Mmabana Centres) are found in three of the province’s districts. Twelve public museums have been identified together with 400 heritage sites as part of a census on the province’s cultural assets.

The NWPTB is unique in South Africa in that it is the only provincial government entity that runs a hotel school. The Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management (IHTM) has two campuses, one in Mahikeng and one at GaRankuwa outside Pretoria. The courses offered are approved by the Council for Higher Education and accredited with the relevant sector authority, THETA.

In addition to the provincial tourism authority, there are regional tourism organisations which market special attractions: • Harties Tourism Association. • Matlosana Tourism Association. • Mooinooi: Buffelspoort Valley. • N12 Treasure Route Association. • Potch Tourism Association. • Vredefort Dome Tourism Association.

Taung is the site of the first discovered fossil of Australopithecus africanus.

Sector Insight The North West Parks and Tourism Board is investing in its 12 smaller parks.

The North West Development Corporation (NWDC) has an investment plan linked to this famous site, involving a museum, hotel and spa resort. The Vredefort Dome is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its significance as the landing site of a meteorite many millions of years ago.

The North West Cricket Association hosted the Under-19 T20 Cricket World Cup. This is the sort of event that the province wants to attract to the province. The Hockey Junior World Cup is next, the first to be held on African soil. There is apparently interest among owners of Premier Soccer League teams to bring fixtures to the province. To prepare for this, work will be done on the Mmabatho Stadium in Mahikeng.

Hotels and conferences

Sun City celebrated its 40th birthday in 2019. Venues available for hire range from a 12-seater Council Room to the Superbowl which can accommodate 6 000, and just about everything in between.

W ith six kinds of accommodation, two outstanding golf courses, casinos and a choice-filled entertainment complex, the Sun City Resort is a major tourism asset and significant employer in the province.

Sun City was the venue for the 2018 National Tourism Careers Expo (NTCE), jointly organised by the National Department of Tourism, the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) and North West Tourism. The theme was Tourism and Digital Transformation and more than 7 000 pupils and graduates attended the three-day event.

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the NorthWest University offers Tourism Management and the professors and researchers are at the top of their profession.

The North West Department of Economy and Enterprise Development has supported small tourism businesses in attending the international tourism events, such as the 40th International Tourism Fair in Belgrade, Serbia. The business owners of TK Afrofist, Thuto Jewellery Workshop, Borobalo Diamonds and Polishing Centre and A Re Bopeng Ceramics rubbed shoulders with participants from more than 20 countries including Russia and Turkey and made sales.

Sun City is far from being the province’s only conference venue. Tourism North West lists on its website a range of venues from small guesthouses with conference facilities in towns such as Rustenburg and Brits to lodges on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam.

In the provincial capital, Mahikeng, there are several options: among them are the Mmbatho Palms Hotel Casino Convention Resort, part of the Peermont group, which has hotels and casinos in six of South Africa’s provinces. The Mmabatho Palms offers eight gaming tables and slot machines. Gaming is controlled in South Africa and licences are restricted to certain operators.

Mahikeng also hosts the Protea Hotel and the Mmbatho Convention Centre (the main auditorium can seat 3 000 people). The Hotel School can accommodate up to 200 people. Most of the luxury lodges in the province can accommodate conferences, albeit on a smaller scale. ■

Madikwe Game Reserve. Image:Tourism North West

Online Resources

Aardklop National Festival: www.aardklop.co.za Marico Tourism: www.marico.co.za North West Development Corporation: www.nwdc.co.za North West Tourism: www.tourismnorthwest.co.za South African National Parks: www.sanparks.co.za