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2021 NORTH WEST PROVINCIAL TOURISM MONTH IN
SUMMARY
MEC MEC Mosenogi Launches the Seboka Game Lodge in Koster as part of Tourism Month
Tourism Month is the celebration of people, places and products. With people at the heart of its
brand, South Africa boasts a wealth of diverse landscapes, with cities, small towns, townships and
villages populated with an array of tourism products to suit every traveller’s needs.
The 27th of September was celebrated worldwide as World Tourism Day (WTD), under the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) theme: “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. The
2021 World Tourism Day was hosted by the Free State Province, where, as per norm, all nine prov-
inces converged for the celebration of this important annual event in the tourism industry calendar.
The global observance of World Tourism Day by the UNWTO aims to foster awareness of tourism’s
social, cultural, political and economic value. With the 2021 theme: Tourism for Inclusive Growth,
the celebrations aimed to inspire and highlight the initiatives that are poised to drive tourism recov-
ery, in a “new and better normal”, post severe COVID 19 pandemic effects.
The Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT)
together with its agencies; the North West Tourism Board and the North West Parks Board had their
hands full executing a Provincial Tourism Month Plan of activities. The Plan that was collectively
developed comprised of tourism awareness and promotions activities which aimed for a heightened
focus on the importance of tourism to the local economy, serving as an opportunity to promote do-
mestic tourism by highlighting tourist attractions, showcasing tourism products and creating a cul-
ture of travel amongst South Africans.
With one week in September dedicated to one district in the province, activities followed a similar
pattern. The NWTB hosted four (4) Stakeholder Engagement Sessions whose purpose was to pre-
sent the newly developed (draft) Provincial Destination Marketing Strategy and to seek inputs from
each district’s tourism players. The following 2 days were used as content build-ups for Tourism
Fridays whereby, historical and heritage sites as well as tourist attractions in the regions were iden-
tified with the assistance of the districts.
These sites and attractions were visited with the aim of gaining first-hand experience and engaging
with owners who interpreted their products to a media partner who formed part of the visiting team.
The exercise was aimed at empowering media with experience and information for marketing and
promotions purposes but also to educate the public on a variety of hidden tourism gems. Tourism
Fridays focused on bringing the Tourism Month Theme alive and thereby showcased a diversity of
tourism products including dams and water sports, adventure, wildlife, heritage sites, museums, ac-
commodation establishments and township lifestyle experiences. Tourism Fridays were compli-
mented by other activities which ran parallel such as the Cultural Tourism Seminar, Social Tourism
Programme and Tourism Walk aimed at inculcating a culture of travelling amongst the North West
University students and community at large hosted by DEDECT
Tourism Fridays began in the Dr R S Segomotsi Mompati District where the Tourism Month Media
Launch was held, followed by Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Molema with the finale at the Dr Kenneth Ka-
unda District.
True to the Tourism Month theme, the MEC for DEDECT officiated the official launch of Seboka
Game Lodge in Koster last week, which is the first woman owned game lodge in the North West
Province. This project was spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development, and could not have been realised at an opportune time than Tourism Month. In its
entirety, it demonstrated Tourism for Inclusive Growth where the inclusion of a woman in a male
dominated biodiversity management environment was realised. The owner, Ms Mpho Mathope is a
seasoned tourism product owner, who has now added a new dimension to her business portfolio,
whereby her experience in the management of accommodation and conference facilities will come
handy.
Ends.
Jointly issued by Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and
Tourism and North West Tourism Board
For more information please contact:
Ms Baabua Thukubi on 082 374 7161: [email protected] and/or
Ms Mamiki Phoolo @ 083 419 5974: [email protected]
Rose Blossom Guest House in Klerksdorp