Kruger National Park recognised among the best in the world

By Kaunda Selisho

South Africa’s Kruger National Park has been recognised among the best in the world alongside America’s Grand Canyon National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the Göreme National Park in Turkey.

According to research by the travel experts at ParkSleepFly, the Kruger National Park is the ninth most popular national park in the world on TikTok.

The study conducted by ParkSleepFly analysed the view counts of national parks around the world to reveal the most popular national parks according to TikTok data.

Top 10 most popular national parks on TikTok across the world:

Yellowstone National Park – Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, United States – 630,300,000 views
Denali National Park – Alaska, United States – 291,500,000 views
Yosemite National Park – California, United States – 279,800,000 views
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States – 249,200,000 views
Göreme National Park – Turkey – 122,900,000 views
Joshua Tree National Park, California, United States – 120,800,000 views
Glacier National Park – Montana, United States – 115,000,000 views
Lake District National Park – United Kingdom – 105,900,000 views
Kruger National Park, South Africa – 98,700,000 views
Redwood National Park- Orick, California, United States – 95,200,000 views

The accolade comes after a dismal 2021 festive season for South Africa’s national parks and the country’s tourism industry at large due to the identification and proliferation of the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

According to a report by AFP, before the pandemic, in 2019, tourism was 6.9% of South Africa’s economy. In 2020 it plunged to 3.7%, as foreign arrivals dropped by over 71%. Food suppliers located around lodges and other tourism-based businesses, airport transfer companies and tour guides suffered as a result of the dip in foreign tourism.

With red lists having been lifted and festive season infection rates dropping steadily, many in the tourism industry wait with bated breath to see if things improve. Hopefully, these and other accolades coupled with a slight improvement in the global coronavirus infection rates will see a much-needed boost for global tourism.