SANParks accommodation and bookings update

In a statement released on Saturday evening, more information was provided on the reopening status of its parks countrywide. Some of the Kruger National Park’s (KNP) camps were especially mentioned, Lowvelder reports.

Several factors have led to the phased reopening of hospitality facilities, mainly that of continuing refurbishment of accommodation facilities in some parks.

The period of the lockdown provided an opportunity to undertake much-needed refurbishments and as with all of South Africa, reopening plans were based on a widely held assumption that tourism facilities would be allowed to reopen toward mid-September. Hence most refurbishment plans were geared for completion around this period.

Speaking of the impact of maintenance work on reopening tourism facilities, the CEO of SANParks, Fundisile Mketeni, said it has some logistical challenges regarding its readiness to resume full operations in some parks.

“In addition to planned maintenance work, it has emerged that the bulk of units that were unoccupied during the lockdown were damaged mainly by primates, squirrels and bats. We are, however, moving with speed to repair them.”

Providing further detail to the logistical challenges to resuming full operations, Mketeni stated that the recall of staff and their induction on new protocols could only be undertaken over a period of days – further adding to the delays. He emphasised that the induction is in the interests of the health and safety of both guests and employees.

“We had an option of staying closed for all business until we were 100 per cent ready, however, with the understanding that our loyal guests are yearning to spend time in nature, the compromise was to introduce a phased reopening of our guest facilities.

“In this manner, some people would have the privilege of visiting our parks while unfortunately several would be disappointed due to the above-stated reasons.”

New updates

In the past week, operational teams have been hard at work and as such SANParks would like to announce:

• The head office reservation call centre in Pretoria is now operating at full capacity.
• The online booking system has been stabilised and all technical disruptions resolved.
• The accommodation in the majority of parks is now fully operational with the exception of the KNP which is impacted the most by continuing maintenance work. It will open in a multi-phased approach between August and December 2020.

Most of the Kruger camps have reopened and are fully operational, however, Skukuza and Lower Sabie will operate at minimum capacity until October 1 and December 15, respectively.

Reopening Dates

Biyamiti, Maroela and Orpen remain closed with estimated reopening dates:

• Biyamiti: October 15
• Maroela: November 1
• Orpen: November 7

The bulk of guests with affected bookings have been contacted and this will continue until the end of September. These guests are being offered alternative accommodation in other camps within Kruger or assisted in postponing their bookings. Those who wish to make queries about their bookings are invited to send emails to a dedicated address: Kruger.overbookings@sanparks.org.

Mketeni concluded, “We are aware that trips were planned and paid for a long time ago and others are family traditions, however, due to the real challenges that we face, we urge for patience and tolerance from all guests.”

Links

• For more infomation, visit the SANparks official website by clicking here.
• To make bookings online through SANparks, click here.

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