Is tourism in the area going forward or backward?

In the Soutpansberg and surrounding areas with its picturesque scenery, majestic mountains and baobab trees, and land of legends, tourism is potentially the gateway to attract local and overseas tourists and investors. To enthusiastically market this beautiful area known for its bio-diversity should ideally be the open minded strategy of any tourism organisation.

"Sadly, it is not about tourism anymore," said one of the stakeholders after a meeting of tourism role-players on August 22 at the Limpopo Information Centre in Louis Trichardt.

If the tone of the draft minutes and a conversation with Mr Mavunghu Musitha, Vhembe regional manager of the Limpopo Tourism and Parks(LTP) is anything to go by, it may be more about poor relationships and accusations of stealing.

Musitha said on September 13 to the Zoutpansberger that "a group of whites ‘broke into’ the office of the Limpopo information centre on August 2, but that they apologised later." In the same conversation he accused the Zoutpansberger of stealing the minutes of the tourism meeting of August 22. In the minutes there is reference of a "stolen" telephone number. Nowhere in the minutes or in the conversation was the main topic the improvement of tourism or vibrant strategies to promote a wonderful region as one of the most attractive tourist destinations.

Tourism relationships strained

In a meeting between LTP, Makhado Tourism Initiative (MTI) and Soutpansberg Tourism and Marketing Association (STMA) on August 22 the relationship between the stakeholders was put on the table.

The visit of the a STMA group comprising previous and current chairpersons took place on August 2 to audit a number of assets which belong to the STMA but which is utilised daily by the tourism information centre. Previous Soutpansberg Tourism Chairpersons, Jan Joubert, Willie Botha, Inga Gilifillan and current chairperson, Clare Gerardin, visited the centre for an audit of their assets.

Soutpansberg Tourism with years of experience in marketing the area as a sought after tourist destination said that their clients complain that they are not helped properly and they do not receive replies to their queries or the correct information.

Telephone number 516 0040

The ‘stealing’ of the telephone number was discussed since the number that had been associated with Soutpansberg Tourism for years, 015 516 0040, was suddenly allocated to Mr Dan Masengana, special projects director of the Makhado Municipality. STMA want the number back since their local and overseas clients use that number. According to the draft minutes it was resolved that the telephone number was not stolen.

"Telkom allocated the number to the municipality due to the reason that it was not having an owner anymore. The STMA has not paid Telkom for the line so they lost ownership and it was then put up for sale until the municipality purchased it," reads the minutes.

When questions were put to Mr Morris Mabada, the Capricorn Regional Manager and former Vhembe Manager, he suggested that the minutes of the meeting of August 22 be obtained from Mr Musitha’s office. The minutes were handed to Zoutpansberger in electronic form by the help desk of the Information Centre on September 13. Afterwards, Mr Musitha accused the Zoutpansberger of "stealing" the minutes from his office.

Mr Musitha was a former director of the Makhado Municipality but was dismissed as director in June 2005.

"Our scenic beauty and individual product are so good that tourism in the broad sense can be successful if the correct information is given to tourists and good marketing strategies are followed. At the moment tourism suffer because of poor managing," a spokesperson of STMA said.

The STMA will discuss their way forward at their AGM on October 11.