Fix Mpumalanga tourist area before it fails

Back in the days of apartheid, when foreign tourist visitors to this country were nothing like they are now, the SA Tourist Board’s slogan was catchy: “A world in one country.”

And, it was accurate, because there are few other places blessed with the variety of attractions South Africa has.

Tourism, because it is a renewable resource – our mountains don’t crumble overnight, nor do our beautiful beaches disappear, nor does our wildlife suddenly go extinct – is one of the country’s most valuable assets.

Local and foreign tourists create thousands of jobs in the hospitality and associated industries and, in the case of organisations like SA National Parks, also provide income to put back into nature conservation.

Yet, sadly, no tourist destination is an island.

One of the most important tourist areas of Mpumalanga is the one controlled by the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, which includes Lydenburg, Graskop, Sabie and Pilgrim’s Rest.

But, like the rest of the failing towns around the country, it is slowly collapsing.

And the failures in service delivery in those towns – including water supply and sewage disposal – are becoming so painfully obvious that tourism numbers are under serious threat.

Oupa Pilane, chair of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association board, said the “lack of reliable water supply and the discharge of sewage into rivers are therefore not only service delivery problems, they are tourism and economic development problems”.

Businesses are increasingly forced to install water tanks, boreholes, filtration systems and other backup infrastructure, simply to remain operational.

“These costs ultimately affect the competitiveness and sustainability of the destination.”

For him, it is simple: “We cannot market our way out of service delivery failure. We have to fix the destination while we market it.”

Someone needs to start listening.