SKUKUZA – South African National Parks (SANParks) is proud to see that the national parks remain among the country’s most-popular family vacation destinations, with the recently concluded summer holidays realising excellent results in a number of key tourism-performance indicators.
December 2013 experienced an increase of 2,4% from December 2012 with 692 498 guests passing through the gates. Of these, 73 910 visitors spent a minimum of one night inside a national park, lifting accommodation-unit occupancy for the organisation as a whole by 1,2% to 77,4% and bed occupancy by 0,8% to 65,3% for December. SANParks camping facilities recorded a growth of 3,2% in the number of sites occupied, achieving a site-occupancy figure of 65,9%.
Hugely popular and home to one of the world’s natural wonders, Table Mountain National Park was the most-visited park, welcoming 333 090 guests. The iconic Kruger National Park hosted 180 328 visitors during the month, achieving occupancy figures of 80,2% and 70,7% for accommodation units and campsites respectively.
The Garden Route National Park, which includes popular summertime vacation destinations at Wilderness and Tsitsikamma, recorded 63 414 people, up 23,2% compared to December 2012, with accommodation-unit occupancy at 86,8% and campsite occupancy of 69,5%. Special mention must also be made of the West Coast, Addo and Karoo national parks, which recorded unit occupancies in excess of 90%.
Visitor volumes picked up noticeably from December 15, reaching a peak between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Despite the pressures these volumes placed on infrastructure and operational staff, feedback received from guests on their experiences in the various parks had been overwhelmingly positive, proving that the organisation’s 2022 Responsible Tourism Strategy was well on track.
SANParks again appealed to all the patrons to familiarise themselves with the rules and guidelines contained in the documents issued to them on arrival, to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit for themselves and other guests to the parks.
Reservations for the December 2014 to January 2015 holidays opened on January 16, and if initial booking levels are any indication, then the festive-season holidays of 2014 look set to be as successful as 2013, if not more so. Any prospective visitors hoping to secure accommodation or camping would be well advised to book now. To do so online logon to www.sanparks.org or email reservations@sanparks.org or contact the call centre on 012-428-9111.
