The total solar eclipse in December had created tremendous local and international interest, the Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board said on Thursday.
Board chief executive officer Edgar Mushwana said plans were afoot to keep visitors to the Limpopo province for much longer than just a day.
Addressing mainly tour operators in Sea Point, Cape Town, he said the event was an opportunity to showcase the province’s culture and its natural and man-made attractions.
Mushwana said an unprecedented influx of tourists was expected for the eclipse, visible in the north eastern part of the province on December 4.
The eclipse will best be seen in the ”path of totality” between Beitbridge and the Mozambique border in the area north of the Soutpansberg, Thohoyandou and the Shingwedzi Camp in the Kruger
National Park.
Mushwana said the natural phenomenon would only be seen again in 2030.
The board had embarked on a strategy to use the eclipse as a platform to market the tourism treasures of Limpopo, in all its regions — the Bushveld, Capricorn, the Soutpansberg and the Valley of the Olifants.
Mushwana said a multi-disciplinary task team had been formed to prepare for the eclipse. Aspects such as accessibility, safety, infrastructure, information flow and health were enjoying focused attention.
”We will be ready for any requirement or need of every visitor.”
The eclipse would be a significant building block in positioning Limpopo as a tourist destination.
”I believe we have received too little attention in the past. We now have a new name, a total eclipse of the sun, and the opportunity to tell the world that 80% of the Kruger National Park lies in our beautiful province,” Mushwana said. – Sapa