MBOMBELA – The MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Jesta Sidell, convened a meeting with the Kruger Lowveld Tourism, a division of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) on Monday, to strengthen relations and foster collaboration.
The meeting follows a number of concerns raised by the Kruger Lowveld Tourism around the unpalatable condition of some of the tourism sites under the management of MTPA, across the Panorama Route.
“I must indicate that we acknowledge the issues that have been raised and the challenges that are bedeviling our Public Entity, the MTPA, hence we have decided to convene this very important meeting to process the issues and find collective solutions to the challenges”, explained Sidell.
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The discussions anchored on collaboration and a coherent approach to reposition the Province as the ultimate tourism destination. Working with the private sector as a major stakeholder, the Department seeks to foster a meaningful tourism revitalization strategy for economic growth that contribute to the creation of the much-needed jobs and eradication of poverty.
The meeting further reflected on the prevailing infrastructure challenges of the MTPA and resolved to implement a comprehensive inclusive turnaround strategy in which the stakeholders also need to play their part in the identified challenges.
The MEC reiterated the importance of convening meetings with various key stakeholders and role-players, as they also need to contribute to the solid and coherent strategies geared towards elevating tourism in the province.
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The meeting oriented by solution-driven discussions between the Department and the tourism stakeholders (KLCBT), agreed that stronger collaboration is essential to resolve infrastructure challenges and to ensure Mpumalanga continues to attract both domestic and international tourists.
The MTPA reassured that interventions are already underway to address infrastructure-related constraints. These interventions and efforts aims to restore and improve the state of the tourism sites and ensures that tourist visits are not compromised.
Among some of the pivotal outcomes of the meeting, is the ring-fencing of all income generated by Panorama Route Sites such as the God’s Window, Pinnacle Rock, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the Three Rondavels for their direct infrastructure maintenance.
Another significant outcome is to revive the Tourism Think Tank – a collaborative vehicle to facilitate engagements and strategic collaboration between government and the tourism industry, as well as to oversee the revitalisation of the Mpumalanga Tourism sector. The Think Tank will engage on strategies to enhance the quality of the existing tourism offerings and explore opportunities to develop new tourism experience while marketing the province to improve the Tourism attraction.
Despite the challenges, the meeting also acknowledged progress made in key areas such as tourism safety and victim support.
The Tourism Safety Forum is now operational, resulting in a notable reduction in safety-related incidents. Where incidents do occur, response times are swift, and victim support is managed professionally and compassionately. In order to ensure proper collaborations and synergy going forward, the meeting agreed to meet regularly to address matters of common interest.
