Julius Baumann

Aviation and Tourism Editor

South African National Parks (SANParks) is to play a key role in accommodating 2010 Soccer World Cup fans, having signed 30% of its room inventory over to Match, the Fifa-appointed company that oversees accommodation requirements for the event.

SANParks expects to host 15000 visitors over the duration of the World Cup, yielding R52,5m from Match over the period.

Glenn Phillips, managing executive of tourism development and marketing, said yesterday that the Kruger National Park’s Skukuza, Berg en Dal and Pretoriuskop camps would be dedicated to the event, while SANParks would introduce a new tented product in the park’s camps for the event, providing 420 beds.

A further three five star, low-impact tents would also be set up in the Kruger and Marakele in time for the event.

Phillips stressed that SANParks’ plans would not be at the expense of the all-important domestic market, with 70% of the accommodation during the World Cup set aside for its loyal customers.

South Africans make up a large majority of visitors to the country’s parks, with domestic visitors accounting for 74,5% of all visitors in the 2007-08 financial year.

International visitors accounted for 24,7% and those from the Southern African Development Community countries for 0,8%.

SANParks’ drive to attract black visitors to its various parks has paid off, recording a 36,5% growth in overnight visitors and a 19,85% growth in day visitors.

A total of 310448 black travellers visited the parks in 2007-08.

“This growth is pleasing considering that pre 1994 very few black people visited the parks,” said Dr David Mabunda, CEO of SANParks.

Mabunda said while conservation was the main focus of the organisation, tourism was its lifeblood. In the 2007-08 financial year, tourism revenue totalled R302m, contributing to total revenue of R607m, up from R595m the previous year.

The various luxury lodges operated under concession in the Kruger have long been criticised for their poor performance. However, occupancies have risen steadily over the past few years, achieving an average rate of 55,86% in the period April to December last year.

On the conservation side, Mabunda said SANParks continued to look at ways to expand its 22 parks and had concluded several deals in the past 18 months.

Source: Business Day