The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) says the Eurowings Discover Airline direct flight from Frankfurt in Germany, to the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, will boost the tourism sector in the province.
MTPA Chief Executive Officer Johannes Nobunga says the scheduled operations by the Eurowings Discover Airline, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, will help to recover more international tourists for the province.
He says the airline will fly tourists into the province three times a week from the end of this year.
Mpumalanga tourism hopes direct flights between Mbombela and Frankfurt will revive sector:
Nobunga says the province received more tourists from Germany before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
“We feel as MTPA on behalf of the tourism sector in the province that these are welcome news that are going to assist us greatly in the Mpumalanga tourist recovery plan, which intended at ensuring that we regain the ground that was lost due to the COVID-19 regulations that led to the total shutdown of the tourism sector.”
Domestic tourism
Last year the province was depending on the domestic tourism to boost the province’s GDP after a decline in international tourists.
Despite the drop in international visitors, most tourist attractions on the Panorama Route attract a huge number of local tourists.
Most of the visitors were from the different provinces of the country spending their holidays in Mpumalanga. Those in the tourism business say the situation has improved compared to 2020.