Limpopo Tourism launches 'Warm Wild Winter' campaign

Source: Kruger National Park

The agency announced the winter promotions from various participating tourism products to bolster the 2024 Winter Campaign that is themed ‘Warm Wild Winter.

The purpose of hosting the campaign again in the Kruger National Park for the second time in a row is to emphasise the point of reclaiming the Kruger National Park whose 70% resides in Limpopo province.

The agency works closely with Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Board as its neighbour.

Local engagement and municipality support

Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality was represented by Cllr. Tomson Nkuna, in his welcome, thanked the Limpopo Tourism Agency and the MEC for having brought the event to their locality.

He further emphasised that the municipality is happy with the progress made in the construction of the wild activity hub by SanParks which will increase the number of tourists coming to Phalaborwa. He reiterated the fact that Limpopo has 70% of the Kruger National Park while the Mpumalanga side only has 30%.

LTA encourages visitors to use other access points from the Limpopo side to enjoy what the province has on offer especially doing activities that you would ordinarily do in summer because of the warm winter temperatures in the province. According to board chairperson, Adrew Dipela, activities in the province should be buttressed by culture and heritage that are very strong in our province.

Dipela said: "The purpose and objectives for this Winter Campaign include positioning Limpopo Province as a leading tourist destination in Southern Africa through the Winter Campaign activities, developing and promoting various tour packages, and encouraging people to travel within Limpopo Province. We are inviting people to come to the province for two summers, Limpopo. This is a call for them to escape the cold winters in their respective provinces to Limpopo which knows no cold winter."

Collaborative efforts for tourism development

The board chairperson of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, Victor Mashego in his remarks indicated that their agency also manages parks. He stated that their board and MEC agreed to allocate some game to African game farmers to support tourism entrepreneurs in the province.

He urged the MEC of LEDET to meet with their MEC to work together like the two boards are doing.

In his address, as he launched the 2024 edition of the Limpopo Winter Campaign, the MEC FOR Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), Rodgers Monama, touched on various aspects of the Winter Campaign. He said: "Winter Campaign is one of the key deliverables for the first quarter of our entity, Limpopo Tourism Agency.

"We are using this campaign to promote and market destination Limpopo as a viable tourist destination both locally (South Africa) and the rest of the world. We also use this campaign to enhance stakeholder relations in the tourism industry both provincially and nationally.

"We are grateful to launch this in this world-renowned national park and home of the Big 5, which we share with our neighbours, Mpumalanga Province.

"We wish to emphasise that there are other access points people can use from Limpopo side to enjoy what the province has on offer especially doing activities that you would ordinarily do in summer because of the warm winter temperatures in the province. That to us is a competitive advantage compared to other provinces."

Infrastructure development and future prospects

Phalaborwa serves as the gateway to the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park through the Giriyondo Border into Mozambique. The Giriyondo border, which is now open, links South Africa and Mozambique using Ba-Phalaborwa as a suitable stopover to restock.

The one area that we have to follow up on is the Phalaborwa Airport which can assist in boosting number of tourists to the province. We are now dependent on Gateway Airport in Hoedspruit, which is a privately managed airport to bring people to this region”.

As Dipela concluded he said: "We are excited that there is progress on the construction of the activity hub at Phalaborwa Gate of the Kruger National Parks by SanParks. Upon its completion, we are confident this will enhance the tourist numbers to our province."

The agency is planning to encapsulate in the campaign several aspects such as campaign launch, regional/district activation, and regional events support. Limpopo’s favourable temperatures are in themselves an attraction, which most tourists come to the province for.

The province is one of the warmest regions in South Africa with an average of daily high temperatures of 26 degrees. According to World Data Info, the province is warm to hot for several months of the year at temperatures continuously above 25 degrees, sometimes up to 29 degrees in winter.

The agency is for this reason calling upon the world to come to Limpopo for leisure this winter and other seasons to enjoy an avalanche of tourism packages in the province. With so much on offer, Limpopo is a destination unlike any other in the country and the world over as it is diverse, attractive and safe for travellers.