South Africans from all walks of life visited the various SANParks national parks during “Parks Week” to soak in our most beautiful natural spaces.
South Africa (30 September 2022) – South African National Park (SANParks) saw 72 166 free day visitors to participating parks during South African National Parks Week from 12 September to 18 September 2022.
This campaign under the established theme ‘Know Your National Parks’ allowed locals with valid identity documents an opportunity to spend a day at a national park of their choice free of charge.
According to SANParks Acting CEO, Hapiloe Sello the objective of the week is to give all South Africans a chance to enjoy and experience the beauty and majesty of our breathtaking National Parks.
“We had just over 72 000 people visit the parks during the focus week this year which is 81% higher than 2021’s numbers. National Parks Week aims to create a culture of pride in all South Africans in their relationship with the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage. When people start to take pride in the national parks, then we believe that they will start to understand the importance of conservation”.
Since its inception in 2006, National Parks Week has seen an influx of 691 418 day visitors in all participating parks.
Sello said, “The last two years the week was postponed to November due to the national lockdown regulations and travel limitations which saw only 39 841 in 2020 and 28 018 in 2021. This year’s numbers are just shy of the numbers we saw in 2018. This is very encouraging and tells us that more people are taking advantage of this free week at our national parks and traveling the country again. It is evident that tourism is slowly but surely starting to recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19.”
SANParks thanks all South Africans who took part in this week, especially educators and school groups.
“The survival of the South African national parks system and our natural and cultural heritage lies in the people of South Africa, and we are focused on involving young people and communities, to cultivate knowledge of the importance of conservation and an appreciation for the country’s natural heritage,” concludes Sello.
Did you take part and visit a national park near you?
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