Vredefort Dome - The North West province offers unique tourism attractions, the provincial tourism department said.
“We have the cableway in Hartbeespoort Dam which is not affected by the weather, there is also the Pilanesberg National Park, near Sun City, the Taung Skull,” said North West Tourism MEC Desbo Mohono.
The North West province also has Vredefort Dome, the world's largest meteor-impact crater. About 30 percent of the Vredefort Dome near Parys is in the Free State, while 70 percent is in the North West, situated about 40km from Potchefstroom.
Mohono launched the provincial tourism month at the Vredefort Dome outside Potchefstroom at the weekend. She said the province was number six in terms of the international arrival of tourists.
The success was mostly attributed to intensive marketing of the province and its tourism products. She said the province was steadily achieving its 2020 vision of becoming the fourth most visited province in the country.
“We have improved in terms of tourists arrivals and we will continue to encourage tourists to stay longer. It is indeed a great feeling to record the success and that simply means more revenue and job creation. The success also tells us that we are doing something right, and that is what we will continue to do.”
She said her department was planning a forum to meet with municipalities in quarterly meetings. “Tourism happens within municipalities, which is why it's important for the department to plan and work closely with municipalities.
“Our plans must complement each other. That will as well inform the budgets and the marketing of our products across the province,” she said.
The four regions of the North West province each offers unique tourism attraction, Mahikeng, North West's capital in the Ngaka Modiri Molema region, is famous for the 1899 Siege of Mafikeng during the Anglo-Boer War, and is also associated with the Boy Scout movement.
Places of interest include the Mafikeng museum and the Barolong Boora Tshidi Kgotla for some historical insight. The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region has the Taung hominid fossil site which is part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
The region also offers hunting and a unique horse racing - the Bray July Horse racing. The race is held in a rural area, the farmers around provide the horses and farmworkers are horsemen. The Dr Kenneth Kaunda (KK) region has the best sport facilities to attract sport tourism, good art and the Vredefort Dome, Unesco World Heritage Site is found in this region.
The Bojanala region has the Pilanesberg National Park, Madikwe Game Reserve, Hartbeespoort Dam and Mphebatho Museum. The Mphebatho museum, in the rural village of Moruleng, offers a chance to view and participate in the unique culture and history of the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela community leaving around the Pilanesberg mountains in the North West province.
African News Agency (ANA)
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