Tourism

A multi-pronged domestic promotion effort is underway.

The Southern Sun brand has risen again.

aircraft. Flying three times a week to Mbombela from Frankfurt via Windhoek, it gives much more direct access to the Kruger National Park than had previously been the case for international tourists, who always used to have to go through Johannesburg.

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) ran an energetic winter campaign through the months of June and July 2023, aimed at encouraging domestic tourists to experience the province’s many attractions.

Partly based on the fact that Mpumalanga is relatively warmer than many other parts of the country at that time, the campaign was part of a broader campaign that has seen marketing efforts ramped up.

Social media and radio were employed. As Mduduzi Vilakazi, Acting CEO of the MTPA, said, “Our objective with this campaign is to grow the domestic trips and regional arrivals to the destination. We want to create awareness of Mpumalanga’s hidden gems, the less-visited tourism offerings as well as promote affordable family packages to some of our nature reserves.”

Another plank of the province’s marketing drive involved persuading national broadcaster SABC to host its Metro FM awards in Mpumalanga for three years, highlighting the arts and cultural offerings in the province.

The focus has not been exclusively domestic, however.

The new flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) had delivered 182 tourists to the province at the time of the State of the Province address by the Provincial Premier in February 2023.

The flight had only been announced by Eurowings Discover, a new division of Lufthansa, in 2022 and the first flight landed in November of that year. Eurowings Discover was launched in July 2021 as a long-haul leisure airline. In May 2022 the airline had 16

Plans are underway to collaborate with the airline and with South African Tourism to conduct a city-to-city tour in Europe to make more tourists aware of Mpumalanga’s offering.

The Provincial Government of Mpumalanga is looking for more private partners to invest in projects to boost an already active sector that has several superb tourism assets, ranging from about 70 parks and reserves to bird-watching, music festivals, car rallies and casinos.

A total of R475-million in public and private investments has so far been raised for the Skywalk project at God’s Window in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. The community that owns the land will be a shareholder. The aim is to attract between 45 000 to 60 000 tourists to the Panorama tourism route. The project is expected to be completed in March 2025.

Another PPP project is the development of a cable car linking the Drierondavels viewing site with Swadini Dam.

The Kruger National Park is Mpumalanga’s most famous tourism asset and it falls under South African National Parks (SANParks). Other notable landmarks include the Blyde River Canyon and the Makhonjwa Mountains, which have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational‚ Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). During her 2023 State of the Province Address, Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane referenced a number of additions that will go into making the site more accessible to academics and casual tourists alike: an education centre, geo-sites and geo-trails are all planned. Although the province already caters for motor-rally enthusiasts, cyclists, runners, walkers, fishers, horse-riders, tree-gliders, abseilers, white-water rafters and rock-climbers, there is still potential for more investment in the ecotourism and adventure tourism subsectors.

As of May 2022, Tsogo Sun Hotels again adopted the Southern Sun brand. With the fairly recent acquisition of the Hazyview Sun,

Mpumalanga Gaming Board: www.mgb.org.za

Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency: www.mtpa.co.za

South African National Parks: www.sanparks.co.za

South African Tourism Services Association: www.satsa.com the group has a total of seven properties in the province, ranging from two StayEasys to Southern Sun Emnotweni in Nelspruit.

Tsogo Sun, as distinct from Tsogo Sun Hotels which is no more, has interests in casinos and gaming and runs two hotels in Witbank (eMalahleni), The Ridge Hotel and the RidgePoint Hotel.

Protea Hotels by Marriott has two properties in Mpumalanga, Protea Hotel Kruger Gate and Nelspruit. At White River, Premier Hotel The Winkler is 20 minutes’ drive from the Numbi Gate of the Kruger National Park.

Forever Resorts has a big presence in the province, catering to caravanners, campers and holiday-makers wanting to stay in chalets. There is also a four-star Forever Resorts Mount Sheba.

The Graceland Hotel Casino and Country Club is a Peermont resort in Secunda.

The hotel and conference centre project in Middelburg is making progress and should be completed in 2023. The R350-million luxury facility in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality is a public-private partnership. Akani Properties, a black-owned property development company, will work with the Radisson Hotel Group to deliver the 150-bed hotel and convention centre.

More than 100 new job opportunities have been created so far on the project, and more than 20 local contractors have been engaged. ■