De Beers relocates elephants
to South Africa. Henama said in March, there were 3.5 million arrivals compared with 3.8 million in April last year, reflecting an almost 7% decline in foreign arrivals.
“Tourism has been a perennial creator of good news, as it has shown growth rates greater than the GDP (gross domestic product) of the economy. Day Zero has been blamed as the primary cause for the decline of tourism numbers in South Africa. The truth is that the decline in tourism can be attributed to an inability by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Tourism to finalise the visa regulations,” said Henama.
He said countries such as Zimbabwe had declared open skies and benefited from more tourism arrivals.
“The visa issues and air access remain the major challenges that have contributed to a decline in tourism arrivals to South Africa. The decrease in tourism arrivals means fewer jobs. One permanent job is created for every 12 tourists who arrive in South Africa,” said Henama.
Rishabh Thapar, an associate director at HVS Africa, said the local hospitality industry experienced a significant knock as a result of the global coverage of Day Zero. Some establishments reported a decline of more than 20% in arrivals, and the region now desperately needs to market its comeback as a water-wise and sustainable tourist destination. DIAMOND-MINING giant De Beers said yesterday it has begun transporting 200 elephants 1 500km from its Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) in South Africa to Mozambique.
The operation, one of the largest elephant translocations in South Africa, is part of an initiative to protect wildlife in South Africa and restore Mozambique’s elephant population, the group stated on its website.
For the first phase of the project, 60 elephants will be transported in July and August from the VLNR to Zinave National Park in central Mozambique. The remaining elephants will be moved to conservation areas with sufficient elephant-carrying capacity in Mozambique from next year.
De Beers is partnering with Peace Parks Foundation, a notfor-profit organisation focused on the preservation of crossborder ecosystems, to carry out the initiative. Peace Parks Foundation co-manages Zinave National Park.
Covering 32 000 hectares, the VLNR can accommodate about 60 elephants without adversely affecting the surrounding ecosystem. However, there are more than 270 elephants in the reserve, as a result of natural population growth.
By contrast, wildlife in Zinave National Park has been critically depleted following Mozambique’s 15-year civil war. The park offers significant carrying capacity for a large number of elephants across its 408 000 hectares, and is home to only about 60 of them. – African News Agency (ANA)