Limpopo Business 2023-24

The 2023/24 edition of Limpopo Business is the 15th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Limpopo Province. In inviting investors to consider Limpopo, the Premier of Limpopo and the MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism outline concrete steps that have been taken to add and improve infrastructure within the province and to tackle socioeconomic challenges. The delicate balance between the need to utilise the bounty of the earth’s minerals for economic progress and the imperative to do so in a way that both boosts the local economy and does not degrade the environment is the subject of a special feature in the front section of the journal. Several mining companies have mitigation projects, employ local people and support local small businesses but Exxaro’s appointment of an all-female team of mounted game rangers stands out as a rather special initiative. News related to mining, agriculture, tourism, construction and property, water, education and development finance is carried in overviews of the main economic sectors. To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com. Updated information on Limpopo is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces, our flagship South African Business title and the newest addition to our list of publications, African Business, which was launched in 2020.

OVERVIEW Tourism

OVERVIEW Tourism Hoedspruit Airport’s potential is to be developed. SECTOR INSIGHT The IDC offers incentives for tourism operators to go green. Of the 78 000 passengers that landed at Hoedspruit Airport in 2022, 61 000 of them were European tourists. With CemAir offering flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town and Airlink connecting to destinations such as the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Maun in Botswana and Vilanculo in Mozambique, the strategically located airport, sometimes called Eastgate Airport, has enormous potential to further increase tourist traffic to the eastern part of the province. The airport is conveniently sited for access to the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park, Klaserie Game Reserve, Timbavati Game Reserve, Thornybush Game Reserve and several others. The Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety is working on a strategy to develop the airport in such a way as to boost the tourism sector. The Industrial Development Corporation is active in the tourism sector in Limpopo. Among its products is the Green Tourism Incentive Programme which incentivises privately owned tourism companies to move towards using renewable energy and efficient water utilisation. It also supports local economic development, such as initiatives in the north of the province to develop new hotels in the Musina area. The northern parts of the province are experiencing a boom in business tourism due to the uptick in mining operations and the preparations being made for the development of a major economic development in the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone. In another part of the Vhembe District Municipality, the African Century Group is building a four-star Premier Hotel at Thohoyandou and the team behind the venture expects to fill its 120 rooms. The Vhembe District has a host of attractions and is connected to the ONLINE RESOURCES Limpopo Tourism Agency: www.golimpopo.com Marula Festival: www.limpopomarulafest.co.za South African National Parks: www.sanparks.org northern section of the Kruger National Park via the Punda Maria gate. Elsewhere in the district are sacred lakes, the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site and many baobab trees of legend. In the Waterberg area, Shekinah Lion and Game Lodge has made an initial investment of R60-million in a luxury ecotourism which offers walks with cheetahs among its many attractions. The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) is responsible for 53 provincial nature reserves. Some Limpopo nature reserves are to be commercialised using privatepublic partnerships. Among the first reserves to be part of the programme are Masebe, Rust de Winter and Lekgalameetse. Three major national parks – Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe in the north and Marakele in the Waterberg – are run by South African National Parks (SANParks) and attract large numbers of tourists every year. The province’s private game reserves and lodges enjoy a reputation for luxury and excellence of service that attracts tens of thousands of international visitors. The combined land area of Limpopo’s national, provincial and private game and nature reserves is 3.6-million hectares. ■ LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2023/24 46 PHOTO: Airlink

MESSAGE Limpopo awaits with more to enjoy Limpopo Tourism Agency Chief Executive Officer, Moses Ngobeni, is confident that investors will find much to inspire them in Limpopo. Moses Ngobeni, LTA CEO Our province is the northmost in the country with several competitive advantages including sharing borders with three countries in the SADC region, that is, Botswana in the west, Zimbabwe in the north and Mozambique in the east. To optimise this opportunity, the province became innovative by introducing two transfrontier parks, namely, Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Park involving Limpopo, Botswana and Zimbabwe and Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park involving Limpopo, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Tourism in Limpopo is progressing well despite having been under stress over the past three years due to Covid-19. It is heartwarming to see the tremendous progress that the sector displayed shortly after the difficult times of the pandemic. We are grateful for the resilience shown by the tourism industry and we wish to thank government for the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan that was developed for the tourism sector. The province is currently ranked within the top three in the country on a domestic tourism front. We are looking forward to the new statistics by Stats SA come the end of the festive season. The Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) has since taken a strong stance in collaborating with key stakeholders as that is central to tourism development and growth. It is against this background that we partner with major events as these not only drive people to our province but also because these events help to address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality which are the ills continuing to torment the people of our province. Some of the mega events in the province come with tangible deliverables to rid the people of the burden of poverty. With the Limpopo Provincial Investment Conference coming our way in October 2023, we are confident that most investors will choose Limpopo for tourism investment as there are many opportunities. We say this because tourism has multiplier effects with a myriad of opportunities and trade beneficiation. Limpopo is ready for the increase in visitors through air access, given the good relations with Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit that can get four airlines per day and Polokwane International Airport which is also on a growth trajectory with three airlines per day. We can’t wait to see the speed train between Gauteng and Limpopo, which is the brainchild of our Premier, Mr Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, and the Premier of Gauteng, Mr Panyaza Lesufi. This will bring some relief to our roads which are congested during long weekends and holidays. Upcoming events include the Summer Campaign that will be launched in and around this October. This will come with packages for the citizens in the province and beyond to enjoy. Some of the activities include but are not limited to the annual Sapa Yopa Rally, Women in Sports Awards, National Celebration of Reconciliation Day and Mapungubwe Arts Festival. Limpopo awaits you with more to enjoy. #GoLimpopo #MoreToEnjoypartnership 47 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2023/24