SUCCESS AT 2014 SA NATIONAL PARKS WEEK

SUCCESS AT 2014 SA NATIONAL PARKS WEEK

The annual South African National Park Week hosted by South African National Parks (SANParks) was once again a success. This year’s event launched at Tsitsikamma in the Garden Route National Park on 8 September 2013 saw an increase of 85.9% resulting in a total number of 53 251 day visitors to various national parks during the focus week.

SANParks Acting Head of Communications, Reynold Thakhuli said  the national parks attracted 28 640 visitors in 2013 and the figures show that we have once again beaten our own record.

 “SANParks started this campaign to encourage all South Africans, especially that from the communities around the parks, to share in what SANParks envisions being ‘the pride and joy of all South Africans and the world,” said Reynold Thakhuli.

He said since its inception in 2006; National Parks Week has seen an influx of 172 076 day visitors in all participating parks.

He said “The increase this year can be attributed to the SANParks programmes designed to connect with the broader South African society and living its vision of connecting to society.”   

“These numbers are encouraging and tell us that more people are taking advantage of this free week at our national Parks. We especially want our young people to take advantage of this opportunity because this heritage will be under their protection in the near future,” said Thakhuli.

All of the parks managed by SANParks excluding Namaqua and Boulders at Table Mountain National Park participated in the initiative to give the public an understanding of the role that SANParks plays as custodian of the country’s natural heritage.

Since 2006 each of the regions has seen an influx of day visitors. The Cape region (Agulhas, Bontebok, Table Mountain, Tankwa and West Coast National Parks) has had 42 973 day visitors with 18 418 visiting this year. The Frontier Region (Addo, Camdeboo, Karoo, and Mountain Zebra National Parks) has had 19 993 day visitors with 7 373 visiting this year.

The Arid Region (Augrabies, Kgalagadi, Mokala and Richtersveld National Parks) has had 6 382 day visitors and 1 596 in 2014. The Northern Region (Mapungubwe National Park & World Heritage Site, Marakele and Golden Gate Highlands National Parks) has welcomed 9 670 day visitors with 2 898 this year.

The Garden Route National Park (Knysna, Tsitsikamma and Wilderness) has had a total of 9 833 day visitors with 4 037 this year. The iconic Kruger National Park had 18 929 day visitors this year with a total of 83 225 since inception. 

“The survival of the South African national parks system and our natural and cultural heritage lies in the people of South Africa and we are focused on involving young people and communities, to cultivate knowledge of the importance of conservation and an appreciation for the country’s natural heritage,” concluded Thakhuli.