Limpopo Business 2016-17 edition

OVERVIEW
Tourism
The Kruger National Park, which is partly situated in Limpopo, is a favourite destination for
domestic and foreign tourists.
SECTOR INSIGHT
The Marula Festival is growing
in popularity every year.
• Tourism contributes about
3% to South African GDP.
• Golf tourism is on the rise
in Limpopo.
• Limpopo is home to two
World Heritage Sites,
Mapungubwe Heritage
Site and Makapans Valley.
The Kruger National Park is the undisputed jewel in Limpopo’s
tourism crown, but there are several other sectors that also offer
major opportunities for investment and employment.
The South African Golf Tourism Association says that up to 10% of
visitors to the country are attracted by its golf courses, and Limpopo’s
offering has been extended and improved in recent years. At the highend
of the luxury offering are the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa (west of
Bela-Bela) and the Legend Golf and Safari Resort, which has the single
most dramatic golf hole in the world: a par three where golfers tee
off from the top of a mountain and take aim at a green located on the
plateau below, shaped like the African continent.
The growth of the Marula Festival, held annually in February in
Phalaborwa, caters more to the local market, although guests from
Cuba, Venezuela, Mozambique and Namibia were spotted at the latest
gathering. At least 13 000 litres of marula beer were brewed by the 13
co-operatives that were on duty, and more than 14 000 people turned
up for the outdoor music concerts that were a feature of the festivities.
Limpopo Province has many varied tourism assets that include the
bare bushveld of the north, misty mountains in the central highlands,
hot springs, a unique cycad forest, great golf courses and the northern
Kruger National Park. There are numerous private game reserves and a
large number of provincial game
and nature reserves.
In 2015 the provincial government
committed itself to enhancing
the value of Limpopo’s
two World Heritage Sites,
Mapungubwe Heritage Site and
Makapans Valley. This is also a priority
programme in the National
Tourism Sector Strategy.
Adventurous visitors can
choose from off-road biking, hunting,
elephant rides and tough 4x4
trails. A vast array of different cultures
extend from the Rain Queen
and her people in the central districts,
to the myth-inspired art
of the Venda in the north, to the
bright geometric house designs
of the Ndebele people in the
Sekhukhune district.
Although most of the province’s
resorts and lodges remain
in private hands, the province
has three national parks, and
the provincial government runs
LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2016/17
76