Protest action outside Kruger Park gate a blemish on tourism industry

For more than a week, tourism businesses near the Kruger National Park’s (KNP) Paul Kruger gate have been disrupted due to protest action.

Demonstrators, who are residents of Belfast and Justicia, have barricaded the R536 leading to one of the park’s main entrances with sand and trees, Lowvelder reports.

They are demanding the upgrading of the D4382 gravel road which links the villages. The road is one of the major commuter roads in Bushbuckridge, linking communities to tourism facilities and commercial centres such as Mkhuhlu and Hazyview.

No vehicles are being allowed in or out of the KNP gate, with allegation that some tour guide vehicles were damaged due to the protest action.

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Most tourists have been forced to deviate from the original route, with KNP communications and marketing manager Isaac Phaahla saying protests have affected the park’s staff, guests and delivery trucks which usually use the Paul Kruger gate to gain access to the park.

Luckily, no pre-bookings have been cancelled yet.

“We did not have any cancellations of pre-bookings into the park, however, guests not familiar with the area were inconvenienced as they had to find alternative entrance gates, which cost them extra,” he told Lowvelder.

Phaahla said the region’s tourism business council is in talks with other stakeholders on how to deal with the disruptions, in light of the R536 closure for an entire week has cost local businesses significantly.

Local tour guide Rofus Makwela told the publication the company he works for usually transfers guests from Skukuza airport to nearby lodges using the Paul Kruger gate.

“One of our vehicles was damaged by the protesters. The fact that petrol prices are high and we have to use another longer route to access the park is very challenging for us, because we are still recovering from the pandemic,” he said.

Makwela said he was also worried that tourists unfortunate enough to have witnessed the protests could consider not returning to the country.

Manager of Paul Kruger gate Protea Hotel, Francois Meyer, said some of its guests were forced to reach their accommodation on foot.

Others had to spend additional money to reach to them, and some guests were even harassed by protesters.

“It is a bad image for the tourism sector, because those who were affected will think twice before considering coming back.

“Some of them were forced to reroute to reach us, and also had to use another KNP route to reach us where they were expected to pay an entrance fee, which they did not plan to,” Meyer said.

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COO of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism, Linda Grimbeek, told Lowvelder that many businesses have been affected, especially in the tourism sector. She also expressed concern that no political intervention had taken place.

“Our members who are doing transfers to the nearest lodges had to pay double to use the KNP route to get to the private reserves, with international tourists paying extra just to reach their destinations.

“We are going to meet with the deputy minister of tourism and the national police commissioner, and we will address this so that they can prevent such things from happening again,” she said.

Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport spokesperson Bongani Dlamini said various engagements had been undertaken with community representatives who are demanding the upgrading of the D4382.

“The department has advertised for tenders for the construction of the road and is now awaiting adjudication for the appointment of a contractor. The project is planned for construction commencement late in the fourth quarter of the budget of the 2023/24 financial year,” Dlamini said.

In the interim, the road is being maintained through grading and spot gravelling.

Edited by Nica Richards.

This article first appeared on Caxton publication Lowvelder, by Tumelo Waga Dibakwane. Read the original article here.