THE Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency is offering some potentially lucrative concessions in the province, including a new cable car in the Blyde River Canyon. The concessions are part of Mpumalanga’s ambitious plan to position itself as one of the country’s top tourist destinations and it is using next year’s World Cup as a platform to attract international tourists.
“We want people to know that there is more to Mpumalanga than the Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sands lodges,” said Charles Ndabeni, CEO of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency.
“We are offering investors a non- prescriptive opportunity to develop these various sites and would love to see a Sun City-type resort being built in Mpumalanga.”
The agency has identified nine key reserves and tourist sites for further development, including the rights to build a five-star lodge or hotel at the Bourke’s Luck Potholes, the new Blyde River Canyon cable car, and a skywalk at God’s Window. Also on offer is a floating self-catering village and lodge at Loskop Dam. The concessions range for between five and 45 years.
Dozens of hotel and tour operators as well as developers attended an investor conference in White River yesterday to view the various opportunities, with the concessions in the Blyde River Canyon garnering the most attention.
God’s Window has 180000 visitors a year, and it provides a spectacular view over the escarpment. Ndabeni believes the number of visitors can be vastly increased with the construction of a skywalk.
The cable car, which will run between the Three Rondawels, Swadini Dam and Maritzkop, will also become a major attraction and the investment will be based on a build-and-operate system, with the province putting in 80% of the development cost.
Security of land tenure was critical to the success of the investments and Ndabeni said claims on all the properties were in the process of being signed, as were co-management agreements with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency. He said as the land was owned by the communities, the development programme could be fast-tracked, with investors in place by April next year.
Key to the development of the province’s tourism industry is providing direct air access to Mpumalanga and the tourism authority is in negotiations with Comair to provide flights between Johannesburg and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.
The agency has also concluded agreements with tour operators around the world, including Japan and Australia, which will acquire travel packages to Mpumalanga using the new Comair link.
Ndabeni said the agency and Comair hoped to finalise an agreement before the final World Cup draw on December 4 in Cape Town so that it could capitalise on the attention the country will receive.