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As many of you have done, SATSA has also taken the opportunity during this pandemic to evaluate our structures and to see where we can enhance our business models.
Following a resolution at our recent SATSA board meeting, we are excited to announce two new SATSA Chapters being a regional chapter called Central South Africa and a virtual chapter for Adventure Tourism. All SATSA members will automatically be allocated into a regional chapter based on their address whilst membership to a virtual chapter, currently the Youth and now Adventure Chapters, will be via an opt-in process.
Central South Africa Chapter
The new chapter will automatically combine North West, Northern Cape and Free State members. It provides for a stronger combined voice and will ensure that regional issues are addressed appropriately by appointing a Vice Chair for each province.
The chapter will kick off with a virtual AGM on 25 August 2020. During the AGM Committee Members will be elected and following this the Committee will then elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairs and allocate other portfolios such as Marketing, Membership, Transformation, Value-Add, Responsible Tourism, etc. The Central South Africa Chapter Chair will serve as an ex-officio Director on the SATSA Board.
Adventure Chapter
We are also very excited to announce the launch of SATSA’s Adventure Chapter following many years of discussions and planning. This new chapter will provide a dedicated voice for Adventure Tourism and ultimately the aim is to promote credible adventure products to position South Africa as a top Adventure destination.
SATSA previously did extensive work to promote Adventure Tourism self-regulation. Through a 2015 partnership with the Department of Tourism a Steering Committee was set up to drive the process. Whilst the project we had hoped for never materialised, some SATSA members of the Steering Committee continued to lobby for a dedicated voice and these individuals will serve as the interim Chapter Committee.
The interim committee currently comprises:
The chapter will be formally established as follows:
For more information on the Central South Africa or Adventure Chapter, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
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South African National Parks (SANParks) today announced that accommodation in the majority of parks will be open as from 14 August 2020 and Open Safari Vehicles (OSVs) will be permitted as soon as the regulations pertaining to their operations are gazetted.
In addition, other parks are scheduled to open their accommodation as follows;
• Addo, Camdeboo, and Karoo National Parks – 17 August 2020
• Mountain Zebra National Park – 20 August 2020
This comes after the announcement made by Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane’s on the response measures and directions for Alert Level 3 Lockdown as it pertains to the tourism industry. As per the Minister’s announcement, overnight accommodation is only permissible for residents of the various provinces that the respective National Parks are located in. Interprovincial visitors will be prohibited entry into the parks.
SANParks CEO Fundisile Mketeni, said “we are in the process of ensuring that the opening of our national parks for accommodation is done under the strictest health protocols to safeguard both our staff and guests… accommodation will not run at full capacity as we will employ a phased in approach to opening. Therefore our loyal guests can expect limited availability of accommodation in some parks at these beginning stages of our reopening, with a gradual increase in availability in the next few weeks”.
Mketeni said that SANParks has implemented additional visitor management procedures in line with regulations and to further mitigate the risk of the spread of coronavirus. Overnight guests will be required to provide proof of residence (municipal account or similar legally accepted form of verification of primary residence) at the time of booking accommodation and again when checking in. “No more than two people will be allowed per accommodation unit except for parents and children).”
Tour operators will be allowed to conduct guided tours in OSVs once regulations pertaining to their operations are gazetted; all OSV operators need to be registered with SANParks before they are permitted to enter the parks. Self-drive guests are still restricted to a 70% vehicle capacity as per the Department of Transport’s regulations and the quota system still applies for day visitors.
The opening of visitor activities and tourist attractions in the parks will be in keeping with restrictions and aligned with the opening dates set out. As more information is gazetted SANParks will amend the protocols and inform guests.
“We look forward to welcoming all our loyal guests but we appeal to our colleagues, tourists and their friends and families’ to travel responsibly. Enjoy the parks and please make sure you follow all health and safety protocols,” concluded Mketeni.
Bookings can be made online, telephonically or via email at reservations@sanparks.org or 012 428 9111 or www.sanparks.org/bookings