South African National Parks (SANParks) hosted a panel discussion themed “Celebrating 30 Years of Sustainable Eco-Tourism and Business Growth through Partnerships” as part of the annual Africa Tourism Indaba, recently hosted in Durban.
The panel discussed the organisation’s performance and lessons learned through a journey of SANParks growth into one of the world’s top performing conservation agencies which had embedded responsible tourism in its operations.
Task Team and PPS’s
In April 1997, the SA Cabinet approved the establishment of an interdepartmental task team to explore how public private partnerships (PPP’s) could improve infrastructure, service delivery efficiency and reduce dependence on state funding. “It was against this background that the SANParks Commercialisation Strategy came to being in 2000”, said Pam Yako, Chairperson of SANParks Board as she outlined the organisation’s response to Cabinet’s directives. “This strategy focuses us on selected commercial ventures in which we partner with the private sector on the basis of an appropriate regulatory framework that is designed to mitigate impacts on biodiversity whilst ensuring that a risk-free return on conservation assets can be leveraged”.
According to Yako, globally, tourism revenue has the potential to contribute meaningfully to the funding and protection of biodiversity; enhancing biodiversity’s role as main resource for tourism destinations. She said it is therefore befitting to enhance the role of responsible tourism as part of a biodiversity conservation strategy that is the primary driver in the management of national parks.
SANParks have progressively increased the number of PPP transactions, covering a wide range of projects, including accommodation, restaurants, retail, activities an airport and the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. SANParks now has a portfolio of 63 PPP projects.
Success of the Commercialisation Strategy
The implementation of the Commercialisation Strategy has resulted in increased market segmentation and product and price differentiation in the parks. PPP’s have contributed 647 additional guest beds across the five-star segment, resulting in increased economic activity and foreign exchange generation. This has also resulted in improved efficiencies of restaurant and retail facilities, enhancing visitor experience to the guests of SANParks.
In the 24 years of its rollout, the Commercialisation Strategy saw a total contribution of R1, 927 billion to SANParks tourism revenues. “Compared to the highest annual income figure since inception of the commercialisation programme, the 2023/2024 financial year has shown an increase of 46.26%.” according to Yako.
The socio-economic impact of this intervention also increased employment in the tourism industry with 2 158 new permanent jobs which excludes construction jobs with 79% of employees recruited from communities living adjacent to national parks. This means a reported spend of R 75 million per annum through community SMME’s and considerable continuous skills transfer and training.
In addition, SANParks-PPP contracts contain BBBEE targets to promote direct ownership of a minimum 10% shareholding by black people, black women and black enterprises.
Part of the SANParks side line event at Africa’s Tourism Indaba included a celebration of a joint venture for the management of a 125 room Skukuza Safari Lodge and Nombolo Mdluli Conference Centre at the iconic Kruger National Park between Karibu Lodge (owned by a black female, Nyeleti Mushwana) with a 40% shareholding together with Tourvest – a pioneer in the tourism and hospitality services holding 60% shareholding.
