HiP most popular Ezemvelo destination

EZEMVELO KZN Wildlife saw 566 565 visitors passing through their gates for the year ending 31 March 2015.

That is according to the KZN Nature Conservation Board Annual Report 2014/2015.

The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) was the most popular, with 221 659 visitors or 39% of the total number.

Midmar Dam Nature Reserve, was the second most popular, with 15% of the total number, followed by the Royal National Park with 12%.

The data excludes Sodwana Bay, Cape Vidal and uMkhuze, which are managed by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority.

Commercial Operations Manager, Jeffrey Makwala, said Ezemvelo has not been immune to tourism challenges, but despite these and budget constraints, revenue increased by 16% compared to last year.

‘This is a magnificent growth given the facts that tariffs were not increased,’ Makwala said.

Other factors which boosted revenue, included the busy Easter holiday and a successful annual Game Auction.

The inception of an online booking system, which has been in place for some years, has encouraged guests to book Ezemvelo facilities, causing a significant rise in revenue.

Ezemvelo EXCO also appointed a task team to investigate possible improvement and development of revenue generation ideas, processes and methods, in order to reach the objective of R1-billion revenue in the next four years.

Resorts were profiled to establish opportunities, identify weakness and occupancy trends.

‘Of the 32 resorts managed by Commercial Services, only a handful of these are making significant contribution to the organisation in terms of revenue generation.

‘The division is considering shifting its focus to those showing potential, to bring them to a more acceptable standard.’

The division has also decided to continue with traditional pricing strategies, namely to setting prices in accordance to demand, in line with low and peak season rates.

Hospitality risks identified, included lack of hospitality competencies and inability to compete with the privatised hospitality industry.

Makwala said the division focused on training, the development of a customer service charter, the development of a call centre Standard Operational Procedure manual and profiling of resorts in order to bench mark them against the hospitality industry.

The division has also identified courses in customer service and general management for resort managers and trade courses for maintenance teams.

The remodeling of the Rhino Card has been effective and revenue achieved has been above target.

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