Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW Tourism

OVERVIEW Tourism Cultural tourism is growing fast in Limpopo. SECTOR INSIGHT Rural villagers have been encouraged to host tourists. • 80% of game hunting happens in Limpopo. • Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane has opened. Limpopo Province has very varied tourism assets that include the bare bushveld of the north, misty mountains in the central highlands, hot springs, a unique cycad forest, great golf courses and the northern part of the Kruger National Park. There are numerous private game reserves and many provincial game and nature reserves. Limpopo’s national parks are run by South African National Parks (SANParks). These are Kruger, Mapungubwe and Marakele national parks. There are more than 50 provincial nature reserves managed by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET). They serve to promote tourism, develop the local economies and promote ecological conservation. Many of these reserves are communally owned but jointly managed by the province and communities. The provincial government has committed to enhancing the value of Limpopo’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Mapungubwe Heritage Site and Makapans Valley. This is also a priority programme in the National Tourism Sector Strategy. The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO protected site. Limpopo in 2016/17 attracted 405 734 visitors to the province, generating an amount of R1.8-billion for the provincial economy. A new drive to promote home-stays is under way in the northern part of the province. Promoting local culture and small enterprises is in keeping with the designation of the year 2017 by the United Nations as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism. 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. In support of the arts and culture sector, a potential area of growth for tourism in Limpopo, a performance theatre is to be built in Polokwane. The Mapungubwe Festival 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 Marula Festival has been even more of a success. The event regularly attracts 30 000 festival- LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18 88

OVERVIEW goers. Several neighbouring countries are well represented in the crowds and 13 co-operatives 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 South African Golf Tourism Association says that up to 10% of visitors to the country are attracted by its golf courses, and Limpopo’s offering has been extended and improved in recent years. At the high-end of the luxury offering are the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa (west of Bela-Bela) and the Legend Golf and Safari Resort which has the single most dramatic golf hole in the world: a par-three where golfers tee off the top of a mountain and take aim at an Africa-shaped green way down at the bottom of the hill. Adventurous visitors can choose from off-road biking, hunting, elephant rides and tough 4x4 trails. A vast array of different cultures extend from the Rain Queen and her people in the central districts, to the myth-inspired art of the Venda in the north, to the bright geometric house designs of the Ndabele people in the Sekhukhune District. Although most of the province’s resorts and lodges are in private hands, the province has three national parks, and the provincial government runs 54 nature reserves of different types. The combined land area of Limpopo’s national, provincial and private game and nature reserves is 3.6-million hectares. According to the Limpopo Premier’s office, the tourism sector employs about 22 414 people. The Limpopo Tourism Agency is pursuing a multi-national tourism strategy, with the Limpopo-Zambezi brand initiative one example of new approaches to marketing the province. Hotels and casinos A new 160-room Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane has opened in the provincial capital. Located near the golf course and the Peter Mokaba Stadium, the hotel also has conference and event facilities. Tsogo Sun runs the Garden Court Polokwane, which has 180 rooms ranging from executive suites to family rooms. The Protea Hotel group has three hotels in the province. In the capital city of Polokwane, the Protea Hotel Landmark has 80 rooms and six conference venues. Just outside the city is the Protea Hotel Ranch Resort where guests can walk with lions. The hotel is on a 1 000- hectare nature conservancy and specialises in catering for weddings. In Mokopane near the Waterberg mountains, the Protea Hotel The Park has 125 rooms and can cater for up to 400 conference delegates. The three-star hotel recently added 25 self-catering units. The Fusion Boutique Hotel in the provincial capital offers five-star quality in 30 en-suite rooms and two exclusive suites. Sun International runs the Meropa Casino and Entertainment World near Polokwane. In the province’s northern regions at Thohoyandou, there is the Khoroni Hotel, Casino and Convention Resort. This is a Peermont venture and there is a three-star Peermont Metcourt Hotel in the complex. The Limpopo Gambling Board regulates the industry and grants licences. The Mopani District was recently granted two new bingo licences. The most recent casino licence was awarded to Peermont Global Resorts for the official launch and operation of the Thaba Moshate Casino, Hotel and Conference Centre in the Greater Tubatse Local Municipality. During construction 751 people were employed and a further 180 permanent jobs are expected when the casino is fully operational. There are now 237 limited pay-out gambling machines in the province, and licences of one sort or another generated R50-million for the provincial government in 2015. Nature The National Department of Tourism is facilitating the upgrade of a lodge in the Vhembe District. Wisani Lodge is about 20 minutes drive from the Punda Maria gate of the Kruger National Park and is in an area particularly rich in birdlife. This community-owned project needs a 89 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18