The popular national SANParks week will be in effect from Monday to Friday. During this week South Africans have free access to our national parks.
It is the 16th edition of this initiative and since its inception, nearly 600 000 people have taken advantage of the incentive.
This year, an added focus is the continued drive to resuscitate the tourism industry which took heavy blows during the lockdown periods.
SANParks Week was launched at the Addo National Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape on Sunday. The tourism sector is struggling to stay afloat as COVID-19 wreaked havoc.
The pandemic forced numerous tourism operations to close down. Thousands lost their jobs. And the virus is seemingly not going away anytime soon.
SANParks board chairperson Pam Yako says, “Talking about the industry lost 71% of travellers and jobs. The sector is also employing many young people.”
SANParks Week launched in Eastern Cape:
SANParks Week is important for the tourism industry hoping it will boost the revival of the industry.
Locals just need their ID to gain free access. But for those that want to stay for longer, there are accommodation specials running.
” Tourism is not about international visitors but also about domestic visitors hence we are encouraging South Africans to visit parks. This is the right thing to do, ” says Yako.
This year, SANParks Week coincides with the 90th birthday celebrations of the Addo Elephant National Park.
South Africans will be able to enjoy free access to the national parks until Sunday, except the Addo elephant park, Kruger and the Tsitsikamma section of the garden route National Park, free access to these parks are only from Monday to Friday.
SANParks Acting CEO, Dumisani Dlamini #SANationalParksWeek #LiveYourWild #KnowYourParks pic.twitter.com/h5yRSgNZSe
— SANParks (@SANParks) November 21, 2021
