Tourism month gives a boost to province’s economy

MBOMBELA- This province is well known as a tourist destination, for its beautiful scenery and nature.
Tourism plays a crucial role in terms of boosting the economy of the province.

AgriECO learnt that since Tourism Month started, people have flocked to
the Kruger National Park (KNP) as entrance was free for one week.

“As we are still celebrating Heritage Month, let us not forget to promote tourism because it creates jobs and uplifts the economy. If you call yourself a citizen of Mpumalanga, you must know the KNP as it’s an important tourist destination.
“So far, I can say that people are responding well to Tourism Month, which indicates that people love nature as they experience it in our province,” said the general manager: communication and marketing of KNP, William Mabasa.

He indicated that the park also attracted people from other countries.

“Although Tourism Month is celebrated once a year, let us continue to promote tourism. The free-entry week was a way of promoting it, while giving citizens an opportunity to visit the park, especially those who had never before set foot there. We were delighted with the turn-out and people didn’t realise how much they were contributing to the economic growth of Mpumalanga, when they visited the park,” said Mabaso.

He said the park was not focusing only on promoting tourism, but was investing in education as it was believed that a good nation invested in education.

“We are not only focusing on tourism, but we are also committed to improving the state of education in our communities. When children visit, we also teach them about various kinds of animals and on top of that, we have been involved in school projects which include building new structures for those that are in need because we want our children to grow up educated and in a friendly environment,” he concluded.