Responsible Tourism in Sanparks
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Responsible tourism in SANParks Join our community today www.wildcard.co.za | 0861 go WiLD (46 9453) SANPARKS coNNectiNg to S ociety The road ahead THE JOURNEY CONTINUES ourism and our National Parks go right back to the inception of the Parks. It can even be said that one of the reasons that the National Parks still exist is because of tourism. How could that be, you may ask. Contents TWell, there are two key reasons. Firstly, if people were not part of the National Park ‘ecosystem’, they would not have formed the strong bonds that they have with our National Parks – emotional bonds that echo those between parents and children. 04 Like bringing up children, managing the Parks is a long and unpredictable Way, Way back process that does not come with a fail-safe manual. You make mistakes. You learn lessons. You adapt. And so you make progress on your journey through life ... one step at a time. 06 This adaptive process has, over the lifetime of the National Parks, shaped the steep inclines decisions taken by those entrusted with the running of the Parks. Some decisions have been good. Others, with the benefit of hindsight, not so good. However, in the main, our National Parks have become an international success story, an example of how a system can adapt to changes in society and its demands. 08 Remaining relevant and evolving with society is the key to the Parks’ future exploring neW success. That means we as the current custodians need to keep adapting in order horizons to ensure the survival of our precious National Parks. Secondly it all boils down to funding. Conservation is an expensive business, and if it were not for tourists like us paying for the privilege to visit the National Parks 10 and taking part in the various activities on offer, there would not be enough money toWarDs 2022: to run and maintain the integrity of the National Parks system. a roaD Map Currently it costs over a billion rand annually to run the National Parks effectively, and over 80% of the funding is self-generated. Land under the management of South African National Parks (SANParks) continues to grow and with that growth 12 comes significant costs. It is estimated that by 2022, tourism profits will exceed looking With R800 million, but the expected cost of operations will exceed R1,4 billion. A mas- fresh eyes sive gap indeed. It is with this in mind that SANParks has adopted the 2022 Responsible Tourism Strategy that lays a sustainable foundation for the next part of the National Parks Tourism Journey – one which seeks to connect with a broader South African society 14 in order to grow the number of citizens who will not only support, but protect our TO the sky anD BEYOND natural heritage. Managing executive: tourism Development and Marketing responsible responsible 04 TOURISM 05 TOURISM Way, way back ourism has been an intrinsic part of tourists who were not genuine nature lovers”. our National Parks right from the In the early days of Kruger visitors had to be beginning. Almost a century ago it completely self-reliant, to the extent of taking Talready became clear that visitors were criti- their own rifle, and they had a limited variety A Few Hints to Visitors cal to the continued existence of our natural of 4x4s: oxen, horses and pack donkeys. IN 1936 heritage. A visionary 1918 report concluded Enter the motor car and the scene changed Don’t fire at any that wildlife conservation was as important dramatically: visitors started arriving in animal in the to animals as to people’s experience of it. droves, ‘rubbernecking’, demanding better park. Remember Finding the balance had its rocky patches. roads, better facilities, putting ever more your weapon is Over the decades visitors’ expectations have pressure on infrastructure. In 1927, three cars for self-protection also changed dramatically. Even as late as the a day were recorded; in 1953, no fewer than only. Don’t molest 1950s management (and visitors!) thought 5 000 visitors stayed in the camps at night or frighten the animals you see a bed, clean ablution blocks and a campfire during the short open season (due to the along the road by were enough to fulfill everyone’s “cultural threat of malaria) between June and October. chasing them with and spiritual needs”. In fact, management Then, as now, the pull of the wild proved just your motor car. hoped that “simple facilities would discourage too strong for people to resist. Don’t become alarmed if lions stand and stare at your car. They have probably not seen one before, and are naturally over- whelmed with _ astonishment. Like nature, tourism also moves in cycles. happens: A little-known destination is “dis- Conflicting views about tourism and amenities are nothing cycles There are times of drought and times of covered”. The first eager explorers go there, new. In the first few decades of Kruger’s history, issues now IN paradISE abundance. Economic ups and downs, wars, brave the lack of facilities and rave about the regarded as beneficial to conservation and essential for terrorism and political changes all influence unspoilt natural beauty. Word spreads and Debates visitors often triggered heated debate. the number of visitors and the attitudes more and more people start going there. To of society. cope with this wave, amenities are increased tarreD roaDs. Proposals to tar the roads hotels. The first request for hotels in Kruger After decades of virtual exclusion from our and improved. Then busloads of visitors start were resisted till the 1960s when manage- was rejected in 1927, then in 1930 and again National Parks, black visitors are now slowly arriving and if tourism activities aren’t man- ment finally accepted that upkeep of the in 1934. The Kruger National Park would not discovering the joy of being welcomed into aged, paradise soon begins to fade. The cycle roads was becoming expensive, while the realise its potential with the embargo on hotels, the Parks. Where previously only the barest from exploration to development, to maintain- dust was detrimental to plants and wildlife. wrote The Star in a leading article during this amenities, mostly tents, were provided for ing capacity and then to stagnation can be RAND DAily MAil The first road was tarred in 1961 – a stretch of time. Seven decades later, in 2001, the first pri- “Our object should them, black tourists can now enjoy the kind surprisingly short. Johannesburg 22 May 1953 one mile from Skukuza rest camp. vate lodge, Jock Safari Lodge, opened in Kruger. be to create an of experience that most appeals to them. The question for those Parks which may atmosphere wherein From being told in the sixties that Balule was have reached capacity is: decline or rejuvena- electricity. Even this was rejected as a bad baths With hot Water in ablution the people will “reserved exclusively for Non-Europeans”, tion? SANParks has decided to rejuvenate and idea for some time. “In the Park people must blocks. These were another “unnecessary feel that the KNP the preferences of the emerging market to thrive with the aid of responsible tourism, sit outside and chat or sit at a fire and dream luxury”, according to management reports. [Kruger National are now actively taken into account when becoming the first country to adopt that as rather than lie in bed and read.” (Knobel, 1961) Punda Maria and Letaba grudgingly got four Park] is not only planning new accommodation in the Parks. a national strategy. “Responsible Tourism – Eskom power first came to Pretoriuskop and baths each in 1939 – and only because visitors a sanctuary for And among all segments of society there is based on sustainability and the integration of Numbi in 1963. had to travel far on dusty roads. increased acceptance of the Parks as part of tourism with the environment, the economy wildlife, but also a the entire nation’s heritage. and the local population – is destined to take sanctuary for them.” On top of political, societal and economical us into a new era of growth,” says Glenn Col. JAP SANDENBERG, changes, there is also the inbuilt lifecycle of Phillips, SANPark’s managing executive of NOTHING NEW As long as visitors have gone to the Parks, new developments have sparked KNP WARDEN, report debates. Go to www.wildcard.co.za and search for ‘newspaper clippings’ to read more. to THE BoarD, 1947 any paradise found ... and lost. This is how it tourism development and marketing. responsible responsible 06 TOURISM 07 TOURISM Land claims Land claims on significant parts of various National Steep inclines ahead Parks are challenging SAN- Parks management to find outh Africa’s National Parks are inter- sustainability of our National Parks and the ways of redress to communi- nationally regarded as irreplaceable upliftment of local communities. The Parks ties that were removed when the Parks were created. treasures, luring tourists from near and currently have 10 400 people coming to work a GRAND TOTAL of Sfar. But even success comes with a price tag. every day. Of these 3 658 are permanent, 1 378 356 bed nights were The fact is, the National Parks face a chal- the rest employed in government supported occupied in kruger lenging road. Expansion of facilities has been projects, often providing a livelihood to com- (2009/2010) impressive, but has brought significant costs munities in remote rural areas. in its wake. Also, tougher economic condi- As part of a concerted effort to break down tions have seen a decline in the number of fences and to connect to the broader South international visitors over the past two years.