Limpopo once again provided a strong presence at Indaba 2004 in Durban, which has become one of the world's largest tourism trade fairs.

The province's large contingent of tourism officials and exhibitors returned with new motivation to explore additional marketing options. It was clear from the excellent business transactions concluded at the Indaba that Limpopo remains a highly rated international tourism destination.

According to Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board Acting Chief Executive Charles Maluleleke, the province's new "Go Limpopo" marketing brand was well received.

"Our exhibition stand conveyed two essential ingredients of the province to the tourism public - its rich wildlife resources and fascinating cultural heritage - which are both really worth exploring," he explained.

Maluleke pointed out that 41 small and medium businesses exhibited their products in the Board's Indaba space. There were 23 so-called emerging tourism operators, of whom 9 were visiting the Indaba for the first time.

Most of these exhibitors were owners of bed and breakfast establishments, while the others were involved in a variety of tourism-related enterprises.

"Widespread networking is vital at an event like this, in order to build contacts, in order to bring more tourism business to the province," Mr Maluleke commented.

He said the Limpopo's stand had been extremely busy, because of the fact that it promoted a huge variety of tourism experiences.

Maluleke said ongoing training programmes for tour guides would continue to be a priority in Limpopo. It would also be strategically important to encourage teamwork between different enterprises, in order to offer more package tours to visitors.

He noted that several interesting new marketing groupings in the province had jointly introduced their attractions for the first time at Indaba.

Notable examples were the so-called Limpopo Collection of lodges, hotels and retreats, as well as a number of product owners who had marketed "The Mapungubwe Route", featuring the provision of overnight hospitality, stops at the famous World Heritage Site and visits to other attractions in the north-western region of Limpopo.