Limpopo Business 2019-20 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
Tour guiding can boost local employment.
biodiversity economy can achieve an average
annualised GDP growth rate of 10%. Limpopo is rich
in natural resources and heritage.
Between 2014 and 2018, Limpopo received more
than 27. 5-million domestic travellers and 8-million
international tourists. As more infrastructure is
rolled out and partnerships created between the
public and private sectors, more investment and job
opportunities will result.
According to the Limpopo Premier’s office, the
tourism sector employs about 22 414 people.
The 5-in-5 strategy aims to increase visitor
numbers to five-million in five years.
A new event on Limpopo’s calendar caused
great excitement in 2018 with the first riding of the
Tour de Limpopo, a four-day UCI Africa Tour 2.2
stage race which started and finished in Polokwane,
with a stopover in Tzaneen. A range of sponsors
enthusiastically endorsed the race, promoted by the
Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA). Hotel@Tzaneen and
Europcar South Africa were sponsors and race officials
were provided with cars by Audi Centre Polokwane.
Regular events are holding their own as well:
the annual Limpopo Marula Festival in Phalaborwa
attracts more than 30 000 participants and is
estimated to inject upwards of R45-million into the
provincial economy. Several neighbouring countries
are well represented in the attendees and 13 cooperatives
operating under the Mukumbi Industries
brand normally brew about 12 000 litres of marula
beverages for the thirsty crowds. Other marula
products are also sold such as nuts, body lotions,
jam, cooking oil and soap.
The LTA also backs the Mapungubwe Festival,
which is growing in stature every year. In addition to
the popular musical performances, crafters have an
opportunity to display their crafts and generate good
income during the festivities.
The tourist authority has six focus areas:
• Golf and game
• Hunting and safari
• Family and recreation
• Special interest
• Mega-conservation
• Meetings Incentives Conference and Events
(MICE).
Varied assets
Limpopo Province has varied tourism assets that include
the bare bushveld of the north, misty mountains
in the central highlands, hot springs, a unique cycad
forest, excellent golf courses, the Kruger National Park
and numerous luxury private game reserves.
Kruger, Mapungubwe and Marakele are all national
parks and they are run by South African National Parks
(SANParks). There are a further 53 provincial nature
reserves managed by the Limpopo Department of
Economic Development, Environment and Tourism
(LEDET). Many of these reserves are communally
owned but jointly managed by the province and
communities. The combined land area of Limpopo’s
national, provincial and private game and nature
reserves is 3.6-million hectares.
The provincial government has committed
to enhancing the value of Limpopo’s two
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Makapans Valley
and Mapungubwe, where the superbly crafted
little golden rhinoceros, a relic from medieval
times, was found in 1932. This is also a priority
programme in the National Tourism Sector
Strategy. The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve is a
UNESCO protected site.
A new drive to promote home-stays is underway
in the northern part of the province. Getting tourists
to eat mopani worms and learn about local traditions
and cultural practices would help to generate
income for villages and hamlets otherwise outside
the mainstream economy.
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LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20