Tourism boost on the cards

A COMPREHENSIVE Tourism Expo will be held in Tzaneen early next year. The focus of the Tourism Expo will be to market the Kruger National Park/Mozambique Corridor via the Limpopo Province and to highlight the many amazing tourism attractions en route, particularly in the Tzaneen area.

During a meeting at Tzaneen Country Lodge on Saturday, a framework for the Tourism Expo was agreed on and a steering committee was appointed to start organizing the Expo.

The meeting was facilitated by The President of the Afrikaanse Handels Instituut (AHI), Christo van der Rheede, from Pretoria, and was attended by the Tzaneen Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Tzaneen Tourism Association(GTTA), the Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM), the Greater Tzaneen Economic Development Agency (Gteda), the Vice President of the AHI Limpopo, Corinus du Toit, and several other role players in the tourism industry.

The need for a Tourism Expo for the province is well known and well documented.

During the Letaba Show earlier this year, the Head of Marketing of the Kruger National Park, Nhlanhla Nene, expressed his frustration at the low awareness of tourists of the beauty and attractions in the Northern part of Kruger.

There is a common misconception amongst most people that the Kruger National Park lies in the Mpumalanga province, while, in fact, the largest Part of Kruger is nestled in the Limpopo Province.

Yet, a surprisingly low number of tourists travel through Limpopo to visit the Park. The KNP senior management has already indicated that they want to play a role in the Tourism Expo.

During a meeting with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee last week, Van der Rheede explained the role of the AHI in stimulating economic activity in the towns where their business chambers operate and informed them of the planned Tourism Expo. It received wide support.

The Expo will focus on all facets of tourism and will also consist of a training and skills transfer component. It is expected to be held in the first half of next year and will, likely, be held at Tzaneen Country Lodge.