Tourism under spotlight

TOURISM in the region will once again be under the spotlight during the monthly luncheon meeting of the Tzaneen chamber of Commerce on Friday. A meeting where a proposed Regional Tourism Conference will be planned will preceed the lunch. There is no doubt that Tourism is the key to economic growth in the region. It is the fastest and biggest job creator, it is environmentally friendly, sustainable and ideally suitable for the region.

Yet, for some unknown reason Tourism still does not receive the support it deserves and many of our tourism treasures are neglected, abandoned or not maintained.

For example, the facilities at the iconic Modjadji Cycad Forest is in a bad state and deteriorating fast, the once very popular caravan park at the De Marillac peninsula next to the Tzaneen Dam is a chaotic mess and the frequently visited Hans Merensky Nature Reserve and Tribal Museum next to Eiland has seized to exist. These are just a few examples – there are many more.

A major marketing opportunity, such as the Tourism Indaba in Durban, is not utilized properly. To top it all, Tzaneen’s Tourism Info Centre, supposedly the mirror and hub for tourism marketing in the region, is closed over holiday periods, majorly under utilized and manned by badly trained and lethargic staff.

Why is this? We have everything going for us as far as tourism is concerned. Everybody tells us that every day, yet we don’t seem to believe it or do something about it ourselves.Tzaneen Tourism has been revitalized and seems ready and eager to change all this. Hopefully, together with the planned Tourism Conference, we will take the first steps to become the tourism mecca we are supposed to be.