Kruger National Park: Be Careful of what We may Lose

[Richprins]

This from the SP 2012-13 Board Report:

http://www.sanparks.org/assets/docs/gen ... t-2013.pdf

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS
ANNUAL REPORT
2012/2013


Chairperson Dlamini


With regard to our tourism function, I am pleased to report that SANParks
continues to perform well in relation to the industry as a whole. We have
managed to grow our occupancies, as well as increasing the number
of paying visitors to the parks during the period under review. What is
important to note is that we exceeded our tourism revenue budget by
5,7% generating Gross Operating Revenue which is 12,2% greater than
the previous financial year. SANParks does from time to time come in for
criticism that it is too focussed on its tourism function, and does not pay
enough attention to conservation. It is possibly worth repeating here that
the success of the tourism function in fact underlies the sustainability of our
conservation performance. With escalating costs related to, among other
things, anti-poaching challenges, we would have been in dire straits had
our tourism performance not been as strong and consistent as it has been
over the last few years since the onset of the global recession. SANParks
generates in excess of 85% of its own operating budget through tourism
revenue, and the health of this function is at the core of maintaining our
reputation as a world leader in the management of protected areas.

We continue to place great emphasis on customer service and on the
delivery of a world class eco-tourism product to both domestic and
international visitors. A number of feedback mechanisms have been put
in place to quantify this aspect and it is pleasing to note that our Customer
Satisfaction Index improved by 0,6% to reach a level of 78,1% in the past
financial year.
Our national parks continue to play a critical role in catalysing socio-
economic development in the areas around our parks. The vision
developed by the Board in the previous year of ‘Connecting to Society’
continues to provide the lodestar that guides us in our oversight function.
SANParks has established itself as one of the best implementers in the
country of government’s Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP)
which provide such critical support to communities in the areas adjacent
to our parks. The range of SANParks EPWP projects in the year under
review implemented a budget of R246m and created 975 941 person days
of work. This translates into 4 243 Full Time Job Equivalents (FTE’s) during
the year.



So there we have it, from the horse's mouth:

Increased tourism neatly helps against rhino poaching, customers are declared satisfied, SP must make more money, and SP's main job now is to uplift communities and provide jobs.

At least there is the underlined bit....

[Flutterby]

Why don't the SANParks Board go and work for Tourism and Development and let true conservationists run our parks!!

[H. erectus]

These comments by Sanparks are either out of plain
ignorance or context yet cover all donations and income
seemingly to hide their financial status. For goodness sake
where is all the funding going???

With escalating costs related to, among other
things, anti-poaching challenges

All the the instances currently serving anti poaching practise,
work for a salary,....The army, thye hawks, customs and the cops
Sanpparks and thye HR's do it, their efforts, for mahalla,.....

[Richprins]

Things are changing constantly high up in SANParks and with regular embarassing incidents from staff in Kruger...

Once again ...

I implore .gov to realise how quickly the Kruger cash cow may dry up, destroying a regional economy dwarfing that of Northwest Province in the long term!

In the short term Kruger is fully booked.

[Richprins]

Kruger does have a long-term plan of eventually having only the Border Rest Camps, with self-drive being replaced by OSV's, in my opinion, generating more income a'la Serengeti. This has serious pitfalls, as the worst case scenario is that the luxury tourism market dries up or cannot cope with the revenue expected, while capital projects already paid for at great expense by SP become white elephants, requiring a Government bailout which WILL NOT materialise!

This train will take a long time to stop, and those making money and scoring political points from Kruger will be long gone by the time the train has stopped, but we need to fight long and hard to keep the train from stopping!

Not just in the interests of our beloved ecosystem, but also our children, and the World's children.

Recent developments regarding the promotion of private Open Safari Vehicle companies, the appointment of a Hotel expert as CEO of Kruger, the privatisation of Restaurants in Kruger, and most significant of all, the admission that the multi-million rand Skukuza hotel may be sold to a private operator in future, warrant a repetition of the concerns raised earlier on this thread.


THE WORST CASE SCENARIO:

1. Within a year, not years, Self Drive will be forbidden in Kruger, starting with the South, and visitors will be compelled to make use of OSV companies that have entered into a PPP deal with SANParks. The whole OSV system is being restructured at present, with guides having stargazing as one of their prerequisites, for example. The creation of jobs, community upliftment, transformation (BEE) and even rhino poaching will be used to justify this.

2. All tourism in Kruger is privatised sooner rather than later. The names of a number of selected hotel groups have been bandied about in this regard.

3. The restcamps are sold to private companies.

4. Shangoni Gate opens, with a stream of international traffic passing through the pristine North of Kruger to and from central Mozambique.

5. Later, Orpen, Phalaborwa and Punda Maria Hotels open in the buffer zone proclaimed around Kruger's boundary, also only providing osv access to the Park, using the SANParks vehicles freed up by the private osv operators taking over in the south.

6. All these developments include Community partnerships aimed to address the question of Land Claims, alleged to apply to 70% of Kruger, as justification.


Later: THE CONSEQUENCES

[Flutterby]

The day Kruger stops self-driving is the day I never visit Kruger again!

[harrys]

The day Kruger stops self-driving is the day I never visit Kruger again!

Yep Flutts here too, and that's the day SANparks will start loosing big time because most people visiting Kruger don't want to use these jeep jockies

I go to Kruger to do what I want to relax and enjoy nature

[Alf]

I will not do any self driving from now on.......................

As there are many dangerous animals out there i will nominate myself to accompany every forum member on their trips to make sure they are safe

I won't be charging anything for my expert advice or knowledge..... Just make sure i have a comfort seat and lots of

[Bushcraft]

The day Kruger stops self-driving is the day I never visit Kruger again!

Yip, I will never return

[Flutterby]

Alf!