SANParks has identified 25 opportunities for private investors to develop and manage accommodation in its parks, together with additional opportunities for activities, restaurants and retail facilities.
Speaking at the SANParks Investment Summit this week, Hapiloe Sello, Managing Executive: Tourism Development and Marketing – SANParks, said the accommodation opportunities had been identified for parks, including Kruger National Park, Table Mountain National Park, West Coast National Park, Garden Route National Park, Karoo National Park and Marakele National Park.
Sello emphasised that the Kruger was less than 5% developed, while development within the park was capped at 10%. The park currently has roughly 8 000 beds.
Glenn Phillips, Managing Executive of the Kruger National Park, also said that while most of the development of the Kruger was concentrated in the south, there were opportunities in the northern parts of the park. He also said that SANParks was looking at a new management system to alleviate pressure on the park, including encouraging self-drive tourists to make use of open safari vehicles instead of their own cars, to decrease the number of vehicles in the park.
Opportunities identified in Kruger include an unfenced tented camp in Nkuhlu and a low impact rustic camp in Parfuri as well as mobile tented camps and tree house camps.
Sello emphasised that while these opportunities had been identified and that SANParks would engage with potential investors, all opportunities would also be subject to a public tender process. The contractual terms are usually on a 20-year basis. After the contractual period, the private party hands over the concession area and concession assets to SANParks free of charge or claim.
When looking at prospective partners, SANParks would pay attention to enterprise development and skills transfer, said Sello, adding that because SANParks operated in rural areas, socio-economic development was a point of emphasis.
These investment opportunities are outlined in a catalogue, which can be accessed here.
