Transfrontier parks to boost 2010 tourism

SOUTHERN Africa’s Transfrontier Parks are to play a major role in tourism during the 2010 Soccer World Cup. SA minister of environmental affairs and tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk yesterday hosted ministers of environment and tourism from seven other Sadc countries where plans were outlined on how to incorporate the parks into the 2010 tourism strategy. “It is not only a South African World Cup, but an African one,” said Van Schalkwyk. One of the key ways to ensure other African countries benefit from the games is through the various Transfrontier Parks that link some eight countries in the region by offering travellers a variety of tourism and accommodation experiences beyond South Africa’s borders. The plans include €100m (R828m) investment in some 20 camps across the parks, as well as upgrades to existing infrastructure such as roads and accommodation, border posts and fences. The ministers – from Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana – have identified seven parks as the first phase of focus in the run-up to 2010. These include the !Ai/!Ais-Richtersveld; Kgalagadi; Kavango Zambezi; Limpopo-Shashe; Great Limpopo; Lubombo; and Maloti-Drakensberg. Current figures show that the parks attract about 45 000 visitors, with numbers expected to increase to 250 000 by 2010. (Darren Sandras)