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View/Open - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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This structured marketing campaign would also educate the local community about these<br />

historical and cultural attributes. The existence <strong>of</strong> valuable environmental assets like game<br />

reserves ought to be known to the residents to maximise its social, economic and<br />

developmental spin-<strong>of</strong>fs and benefits. A well protracted marketing strategy aimed at<br />

educating the community about these attributes is very paramount and imperative since a<br />

community cannot showcase what it does not know. This will go a long way to the actual<br />

realisation <strong>of</strong>the implicit tourism potentials <strong>of</strong>Ulundi municipality and its surroundings.<br />

The local community, through its political and community leadership, should be at the<br />

forefront <strong>of</strong> creating a conducive, safe and sound tourism atmosphere to ensure the security<br />

and protection <strong>of</strong> local and international tourists. This would be in a form <strong>of</strong> community<br />

policing to identifY criminal elements in and outside the community that are threat to tourists.<br />

This drive would be an integrated holistic partnership between the police, the Ulundi<br />

community, the CTA and the tourism service providers. This calls for collective<br />

conscientisation efforts that encourage potential tourism products to be in a state <strong>of</strong><br />

preparedness to synchronise this drive.<br />

The intersection point <strong>of</strong>P700 and R66 roads is conducive for the development <strong>of</strong>a resourced<br />

information centre in Ulundi. This centre will provide guidance and direction to tourists as<br />

they engage in tours to the places <strong>of</strong> interests far and near Ulundi. As the only major urban<br />

area in the Ulundi Local Municipality, such a centre will also <strong>of</strong>fer ICT services (in the form<br />

<strong>of</strong> electronic mails, internet, fax and telephone services) to both domestic and international<br />

tourists. The location <strong>of</strong>this proposed centre is in close proximity to the Mangosuthu Airport<br />

which is likely to be used greatly by the tourists from far and near. The multiplier economic<br />

spin <strong>of</strong>fs to the local community to show case their art and craft products around the<br />

information centre cannot be overemphasised. The local community <strong>of</strong> Mpungose ought to<br />

be active participants <strong>of</strong>this development vision and would market the hand--crafted products<br />

using P700. Local tour operators, B & B, tour guides and contractors are to be actively<br />

involved in tourism development that will emerge around P700 from its intersection point<br />

with the R66 through the battlefield route to the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game reserve.

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