Limpopo Tourism Grows In Bounds

Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) is engaged in discussions with other tourism stakeholders in the province to develop yet another niche tourism product in the province called Greater Mapungubwe Heritage and Cultural Route. This is billed to be a huge tourism attraction in the country to attract both local and international tourists, thereby pushing the domestic tourism bar higher in the province. Key stakeholders in the initiative include the South African National Parks (SANParks), Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) and tourism establishments in the Vhembe District.

Should this initiative succeed it will be seen as a huge boost in tourism development in the province and judging by the level of momentum this initiative is gaining since the concept was hatched a year ago we have no doubt that it will have the appropriate impact in the district. All participants are optimistic about the initiative and vowed to support it to succeed.  Participants agreed that the route will be launched at Mapungubwe World Heritage Site in Limpopo in March 2012.

The plan is to also launch the route to trade at Indaba Travel show in May 2012. It was further agreed that various participating establishments and destinations along the route should have submitted details in respect of their packages to the office of the LTA in Makhado before the end of February 2012 for consolidation to produce one brochure for marketing purposes. The intention is to have the brochure ready for marketing during ITB in Germany next March. In the process the LTA has been mandated to collate information from all the participating establishments and products to build a database for this initiative.

This is billed to be a major tourism draw card to the province and will boost Limpopo’s domestic tourism. The CEO of LTA, Mr. Rob Tooley, is very elated about these developments and said, “This is to us is an added competitive advantage as there is only one province in this country which is endowed with the wealth of culture and heritage. The major boost to us is our strategic location as we are a gateway to other parts of our continent. The success of this initiative will be for the benefit of the entire country, and I am confident that we will pull it through, considering the enormous support we have received from all the stakeholders in the region.”