Tourism in the region needs to get back on course, is the point of view of the Soutpansberg Tourism Marketing Association (STMA).

"The STMA will re-focus its energies on what needs to be done in terms of the growth and promotion of our wonderful region – even if it means distancing ourselves from the Makhado or Vhembe Tourism initiative (MTI) – and will once again be a forceful marketing drive for this region," stated Clare Gerardin, acting chairperson of the STMA in an email dated September 21.

Gerardin said that the STMA has endeavoured to facilitate a working relationship with the provincial and regional tourism bodies.

"It must be remembered that the STMA was the driving force for tourism in this region long before the info centre in Louis Trichardt came along, and long before the MTI was started. Despite all our efforts to work effectively both with the information centre and the municipality, very little seems to have been achieved," Gerardin wrote in a letter to the Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board, dated August 25.

The letter followed a meeting between the LTPB (Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board), MTI and STMA on August 22. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the relationship between the three stakeholders, but the meeting took place without notification to the acting chairperson of the STMA, who was the one requesting the meeting in a letter to the LTPB, dated August 3.

"We have a very, very poor representation of regional tourism in the Soutpansberg at the moment. There is no effective marketing collateral on this region at all, our attendance at trade shows has been less than satisfactory, and no progress has been made. In fact, there has been a distinct backward slide during the past three years," the STMA stated.

The STMA said that they wanted to have a presence in the Info centre in order to give out credible information and develop tourism in the region. At the meeting it was resolved that the STMA would not be allowed to operate in the same office in the Info Centre.

When the Info Centre started, STMA was the nominated CTA (Community Tourism Association) to manage the info centre until the MTI was fully operational. The STMA put in a bid in October 2005 to run and manage the Info Centre on behalf of the MTI and work alongside LTPB.

"Many, many meetings later, the eventual outcome was that only LTPB would continue to be present in the info centre and represent the MTI on behalf of everyone.

"By then the STMA had vacated its old premises (on the surmise that it would be occupying the new premises)," Gerardin stated. Thereby they relinquished the main marketing responsibility of the region to the Info Centre.

"It sadly seems as if main the purpose in terms of the promotion of Tourism for our region, via the Info Centre, has veered terribly off course," Gerardin said on September 25.

Previously, more than 150 members in the Soutpansberg contributed toward the development of tourism via the STMA. The STMA meeting on October 11 at Hangklip is seen as critical for its members in terms of defining the way forward and re-establishing the Soutpansberg Tourism and Marketing Association.