Mpumalanga is home to a diverse range of cultures, including Swazi, Ndebele, Afrikaans, Tsonga, Zulu, Mapulana, Portuguese and Pedi communities.
Mpumalanga, (Zulu name for “the place of the rising sun”) is a province in eastern South Africa, bothering the nations of Swaziland and Mozambique. The province’s iconic Blyde River Canyon is amongst the world’s largest, also known as a green canyon because of its subtropical foliage. It also embraces southern half of The Kruger National Park.
Botshabelo renowned as the centre of Cultural Heritage, with displays of the Ndebele house paintings. Dr Esther Mahlangu who gained international recognition for her artwork rooted in Ndebele traditions and geometric patterns. With this said, Mpumalanga still remains one of the major tourists attractions in South Africa. Some of these attractions include, the Sudwala Caves, God’s Window, Three Rondavels, Sabi Sands Game Reserve and the Blyde River Canyon.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the tourism sector into an unprecedented crisis. In response to this, the Department of Tourism initiated the development of a Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) to facilitate the recovery of the sector to preserve jobs and livelihoods, facilitate new job opportunities, match demand and supply, and strengthen transformation.
Recently, Mpumalanga tourism with Jakada Holdings held the 2nd annual Mpumalanga Tourism Expo at the Riverside Mall in the City of Mbombela to continue to revive and promote the tourism industry in Mpumalanga and South Africa. The expo provided an exhibition platform for tourism products and services to sell their offerings, this included neighbouring countries Mozambique and Swaziland.
The aim of the expo is an ideal tool to fast track the recovery of many tourism products across South Africa and Africa, said Mr Xolani Mthethwa Tourism Expect and Chief Executive Officer at Jakada Holdings.