GRASKOP – This small forestry town has without a doubt over the years become the tourist Mecca of the Lowveld that provides a massive economic boost for the region.
With it being perched on the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment, centrally situated in the Panorama region and surrounded by scenic wonders such as God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, spectacular waterfalls like Lisbon, Berlyn and MacMac and the world-renown Blyde River Canyon and Three Rondawels, buses packed with tourists make their way here on a daily basis.
However, locals say tourism is starting to decline at an alarming rate. The town has a few shortcomings that might contribute to its tourist influx starting to suffer, says Mr Wendel Hough, tourism representative of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT). These include the state of the roads, the town’s overall tidiness – or lack thereof – and the abundance of vendors, to name but a few. Ms Valma Schutte, an employee of Panaroma Information and Reservations in town, adds that it isn’t growing or expanding. Read more opinions here.
A recent meeting hosted by the KLCBT brought to light that the time is ripe for a joint initiative between the various arms of organised business in the region. The intention is to strengthen links between the different organisations, and to create a platform to give a clear mandate to business role players engaging with government representatives and to share best practice and experiences.
It has been recognised in the meeting that in Ehlanzeni, tourism is a significant contributor to job creation and poverty alleviation, and that it has made significant progress in building robust regional structures and systems that can be adopted by all business sectors.
“There is power in unity,” says Dr Norah Fakude, president of the KLCBT. “Goverment’s primary role is in creating and enabling an environment for private-sector investment and development that in turn will address unemployment, poverty and the inequalities that still exist in our society. It is critical that we work closer with government to assist them in addressing the challenges facing us on many fronts,” Fakude adds.
However, even with these, new proposed developments are in the pipeline which will attract more tourists.
But this raises a critical question: If the current tourist attractions cannot be maintained, why add more to the collection? One of these developments include the proposed skywalk at God’s Window in the Blyde River Canyon which will attract more tourists and lead to a massive economic boost. But, it can easily be affected by the condition of the roads in the area.
Newly appointed unit manager of Graskop, Mr Solly Selekane has recognised the town’s shortcomings and says it needs to work together to solve these problems. “Graskop needs an overhauling.
“The streets and surrounding roads are in a terrible state,” he says. “We are currently busy sourcing funds to try and sort out these problems which will also be advantageous for tourism in the area.”
