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Kruger National Park
The Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) plans to attract over 10 million domestic and international tourists this year alone. The LTA recently launched a Warmer Winter Tourism Campaign at the Kruger National Park given the province’s warm temperatures in winter.
The world-renowned Kruger National Park is home to the famous Big Five. The northern side of the national park in Limpopo forms part of the transfrontier park with neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe. With the southern hemisphere winter, this is the ideal season for visiting the park when scores of game converge around watering holes that punctuate the park.
Some visitors travel as far as Europe to witness firsthand what the park has to offer. Karolina Matukyiniene* says the experience is exceptional. “I and my colleagues are very excited. You know, as you said before, it is one of the dreams—and dreams come true. We are very happy we are here and we are exploring this beautiful Kruger National Park.”
The warm temperatures in the northern part of the Kruger National Park also attract domestic tourists from other parts of the country. A couple from Cape Town, Rocco and Lizette Nel, say they’re enjoying the warm weather.
“We live in a little village just outside Cape Town, and it is winter now—it’s rainy. It’s nice to get away to a warmer climate during May. That’s one of the reasons we also come here for a winter holiday. We swim every day in the pool they have here, which they keep in such an excellent condition.”
VIDEO | Limpopo encourages tourists to visit Kruger Park
The Warmer Winter Campaign is launched on an annual basis. It is, however, not the only campaign designed to attract scores of visitors to the province. The Tourism and Environment Department says it is important to maintain a high influx of tourists even during winter.
MEC Tshitereke Matibe says this will, in turn, create jobs. “Limpopo presents two summers—it is a hot summer and a warm summer, a cool summer. So everyone who wants to enjoy summer in winter has to come to Limpopo. That is why we say Limpopo is indeed a very important destination during summertime. You can see here in Kruger National Park it is warm and hot during winter, so we do this annually, we have a winter campaign.”
In 2024, close to seven-and-a-half million international and domestic tourists visited different parts of the province. Now the goal by the Limpopo Tourism Agency is to increase that figure to 10 million annual visitors. Limpopo Tourism Agency’s Moses Ngobeni had this to say; “Last year we had 7.5 million tourists visiting Limpopo, creating more than R20 billion in the economy of the province. But we want to grow that number. Our target that has been given is that we need to reach 10 million.”
One popular camp for tourists is the Mopani Rest Camp. In true African tradition, visitors are also entertained by a colourful group of dancers, who swing to the rhythmic sounds of the marimba drums.
