TOURISM MONTH OFFICIAL LAUNCH: 05 SEPTEMBER
The official launch of the Mpumalanga Tourism Month programme will take place on the 05th of September 2012 after South African Tourism has launched it nationally. MEC N Mokoena will officially launch the Tourism Month. At the launch, MTPA will announce to both the media & trade the activities that have been lined up for the month.
Venue: Casambo Lodge
TOURISM AWARENESS DAY: 07 SEPTEMBER 2012
Celebrating Tourism month and creating awareness on business opportunities that exist in the sector and how they can benefit. Encourage locals to travel within the province and appreciate the beauty of their province. All tourism Stakeholders such as TEP, SEDA, NYDA, MEGA amongst others will be invited to exhibit services that they offer. Eskom will be invited to share with community members on how they can save energy. Job shop will be exhibiting and recruiting on-site during the awareness day. There will be a number of cultural activities planned this is aimed at appreciating our culture.
Venue: Elangeni Lodge, Kamhlushwa
WAKKERSTROOM BIRDWATCHING DAY: 13 SEPTEMBER 2012
Wakkerstroom is one of South Africa's premier birding destinations. Bird watching is one of the activities that are considered to be less important among certain ethnic groups. This is one of the major tourist attractions in the province and is contributing immensely in the growth of our economy. MTPA identified the necessity to create more awareness to communities on domestic tourism and encourage them to appreciate the amenities that surrounds them. Invite learners to a bird watching session to encourage domestic tourism and for learners to learn more about birds like Blue Crane, Blue Korhaan, Rudd's Lark & Botha's Lark and how they contribute towards tourism.
Venue: Wakkerstroom Town Hall
TOURISM SAFETY ROADSHOW: 07&08 SEPTEMBER 2012
There is a pressing need to raise safety standard within the tourism industry in order to improve the image of Mpumalanga as a safe Tourist destination. The purpose of the Road shows is to encourage the Tourism product owners to work together with neighbouring communities to create a safe environment for tourists. The road show will be conducted in the following areas: Kanyamazane, Kabokweni, Nelspruit, Mkhuhlu, White river, Hazyview and Bushbuckridge.
Venues: Day 1 -Nelspruit Plaza, Kanyamazane Plaza and kabokweni Plaza
Day 2 -Mkhuhlu plaza, Blue Haze centre and Bushbuckridge shopping centre
NATIONAL PARK WEEK: 28 & 29 SEPTEMBER 2012
The National Park week is aimed at celebrating and recognizing national parks and Game reserves as a sector in tourism. In support of the National Park week, local citizens have an opportunity to explore wildlife with free access to most national parks and some game reserves. Most communities are not informed about the importance of appreciating and conserving the environment.
Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency will use the national park week to encourage communities to participate in domestic tourism in order to discover the beauty of the country, re-discover the fauna and flora, the historical landmarks and the cultural treasures that make us proudly South Africans.
A few senior citizens of the province will be will be taken on a tour to Zithabiseni resort for lunch and other will go to the Kruger national Park to experience the Wild life.
4X4 OFF ROAD EXPERIENCE 28 & 29 SEPTEMBER 2012
Mpumalanga has a diverse landscape that creates thrilling and exciting 4X4 trails that can be explored. 4X4 off road drivers can be offered guided tours so they are able to practice their navigational skills, driving skills and test their endurance. Getting close to nature, having fun and challenging adventurers is what 4x4 driving is all about. Mpumalanga is filled with untamed beauty to discover such as s Riverwild, Ebutsini, Luphisi, Mac Mac summit route amongst others.
Venue: Riverwild and Luphisi.
TOURISM SCHOOLS COMPETITION AWARD CEREMONY 20 SEPTEMBER 2012
A Tourism school competition for grade 11 learners will be conducted with an intention to create awareness on tourism issues. The theme of the competition is “Tourism and Sustainability Energy – Powering sustainable Development”.
Learners must complete a simple assignment which will be assessed against rubrics that will be provided to educators. This competition is open to all public and private secondary schools in Mpumalanga. The competition is aimed at educating young people about tourism, stimulate excitement and interest about the industry and expose students to the numerous career options that are available in the tourism industry.
This competition strives to educate the youth about the importance of tourism in their region as well as developing their writing and presentation skills and enhancing. The aim is also to instil pride in conserving nature and appreciation of tourism.
