Authorities at South Africa’s world renowned Kruger National Park (KNP) have appealed to locally-based visitors to visit the flora- and fauna-rich protected areas as tourists.
KNP spokesperson Ike Phaahla made the appeal on Friday in the park’s efforts to resuscitate its fortunes following the coronavirus pandemic’s devastation of its finances due to months of closure to visitors.
The park, like most commercial entities in the country and worldwide, was shut down in March this year as the country tried to contain the virus from spreading through a series of lockdowns.
The move seriously reduced the number of tourists who used to visit the park located in the north of the country, the park official said.
“The park has suffered quite a lot. Its bookings have gone down like the tourism industry itself. But, surprisingly, we have seen that the camping site is actually the one that is fully booked up to now.
“So, we still have openings for people that would like to make late bookings for accommodation in the park,” Phaahla said.
He appealed to the locals to visit the park, especially during the forthcoming festive season — instead of leaving the visiting to foreign tourists alone
Phaahla, however, reminded the local visitors to the park during the festive season to follow all coronavirus regulations and protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
The pandemic, now officially in its second wave in South Africa, has killed nearly 23,000 people since March when it first broke out in the country.
NM/abj/APA