Mahala Week: Visit Limpopo parks, resorts for FREE
The MEC for Tourism, Thabo on Friday launched Mahala Week as part of Tourism Month celebrations. #LimpopoIsOpenForBusiness
LIMPOPO – The event took place at the Kone Village Boutique Hotel at Ha-Ramantsha village in the Makhado Municipality.
This Mahala Week will give visitors to the reserves and resorts owned by the department the opportunity to frequently visit these establishments free of charge between 11 and 19 September.
This year, Tourism Month is themed Rural Development and Tourism.
During the launch they also took a sho’t left to Ribola Art Gallery, Scrap Metal Recycling, Mokendeni Pottery, Thomas Kubayi Art Gallery and the Twananani Textile Co-operative.
Meet Patrick Manyike, a man that talks to the woods. “The wood tells the story, all I do is cut away the nonessential parts.” he is part of the new generation sculptures on the @RibolArt route #LimpopoIsOpenForBusiness pic.twitter.com/XPtlUSAENu
— Limpopo Tourism Agency (@golimpopo) September 5, 2020
Mokone encouraged citizens to visit these establishments as Covid-19 has hit the tourism industry hard and some comeback was needed.
“Governments across the world, such as ours, have had to implement necessary measures to contain the spread of the virus.
“These measures have directly restricted the movement of people, as well as goods and services globally, with a concomitant adverse impact on the tourism sector,” said Mokone.
He said the pandemic has disrupted the tourism sector, resulting in a reported loss of R68 billion in revenue in the tourism and hospitality sectors by July 2020, countrywide.
Tourism introduced a Tourism Relief Fund for tourism enterprises that were affected, and the province announced a R10 million relief fund.
“Tourism is a resilient but important sector that contributes immensely to the province’s economy.
“The central objective of Tourism Month is to drive domestic tourism through raising awareness thus encouraging local people to travel and enjoy various tourism experiences in the province,” he said.
Mokone told CV that rural tourism should be viewed as a means to eliminate poverty and create employment in rural areas.
The impact of #COVID19 has not escaped attention of artists like Thomas Kubayi and Pilato Bulala from the @RibolArt route in Limpopo. The warning, pain and extent of its reach is seen in various forms with resultant deaths ever lurking in the background.#LimpopoIsOpenForBusiness pic.twitter.com/gKlAnb42ZI
— Ndavhe Ramakuela (@ndavher) September 6, 2020
Limpopo Tourism Agency Board Chairperson, Andrew Dipela said during September, the agency will use their digital marketing platforms to profile the various rural tourism offerings using the hash tag #LimpopoIsOpenForBusiness to stimulate the desire to travel to these locations and position them as the ideal bucket-list destination on every potential traveller’s plans.
