Bumper festive season at iSimangaliso Park
15. Jan, 2009
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Sodwana Bay - Despite South Africans tightening their belts in the face of the slowing economy, the number of visitors to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park over the festive season was higher than the previous season.
“During the period between Christmas and New Year, 1 000 vehicles were entering Sodwana Bay on average per day,” said iSimangaliso Wetland Park spokesman Roland Vorwerk. “The 120 day-visitor vehicle limit at the Eastern Shores section of iSimangaliso was reached consistently from December 16 until January 3 2009, with a one-out one-in system in place once the limit was reached.”
He said no serious incidents had been reported at the various facilities in the park despite thousands of visitors flocking to the beaches, particularly on New Year’s Day.
“Crowds in the region of 35 000 people flocked to the St Lucia beaches, while around 25 000 enjoyed the day at Sodwana Bay,” said Vorwerk.
“Entry to both these sections of the park is free on New Year’s Day, in line with the park’s equitable access policy. Other popular areas, such as Cape Vidal, also reached their set-carrying capacities as new game drives and other improved day-visitor facilities were well supported.”
Road blocks on the roads leading to the beaches had been manned by the police and security companies, and supported by park staff.
“No incidents of drowning have been reported at any of the beaches along the 220km coastline of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park during this holiday season,” said Vorwerk.
He added: “Activity operators in the southern section of iSimangaliso, operating out of the town of St Lucia, reported similar business to last year, with a feature in town being a significant increase in the number of foreign visitors in the area during this period.”
Andrew Zaloumis, the chief executive officer of the park, said: “It is possible that owing to the global economic slowdown, international visitors to the area may decrease this year. The decrease in the fuel price and the proposed interest rate cuts, however, bode well for domestic tourism.”
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
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