KWAGGAFONTEIN — A two-day tourism tour through Thembisile Hani has showcased the municipality’s mix of nature, cultural heritage, accommodation, food and local businesses, while highlighting challenges that could affect tourism growth in the area.

The Thembisile Hani Local Tourism Organisation (THLTO) tour was officially launched at Zithabiseni Resort on 16 September under the theme “Tourism Drives Brighter Communities”.

The tour formed part of the Thembisile Tourism Route, under the tagline “Discover, Experience, Belong — Our People, Our Places, Our Stories”, and brought together tourism stakeholders, local businesses and other participants to showcase attractions and tourism products.

THLTO chairperson Johannes “Snappy” Ntshwane says the initiative was intended to demonstrate the range of experiences available to visitors.

“The purpose of the tour is to show that Thembisile has everything that a tourist needs. We have nature, we have heritage, we have culture, we have luxury accommodation which is affordable, we have scrumptious food, we have shopping, everything is here,” Ntshwane says.

 

Nature, heritage and local businesses

The first day included visits to Zithabiseni Resort, SS Skhosana Nature Reserve, Temple Bliss, Dan Butchery and Chesa Nyama, De Rams Guest House, Kwa Khuzi Traditional Restaurant and Mrhali Boutique Guest House.

After lunch at Kwa Khuzi, the delegation visited Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, home to Betway Premiership club TS Galaxy and Motsepe League side Casric Stars FC. The stadium now hosts PSL matches, which have become one of the biggest contributors to local tourism.

The day concluded at Swandle Guest House with a Tourism Show, Exhibition and Networking Dinner, where local crafters and tourism product owners showcased their work.

The second day kicked off with breakfast at Da Village Villas Lodge, followed by a visit to SS Guest before the delegation proceeded to Kghodwana Cultural Village in KwaMhlanga, where visitors were introduced to Ndebele heritage, culture and traditional art.

The final stop was KwaMaMtshweni Traditional Food Restaurant, where the media team and local influencers were treated to traditional food for lunch before departure.

At SS Skhosana Nature Reserve, tour guide Menzi Ntuli highlighted animal poaching as one of the challenges facing the reserve.

“Our priority as the nature reserve is to cater for our tourists, but at the same time we are facing challenges of animal poaching because the place is surrounded and within the community. People come as hunters around the bushes and they end up getting into the reserve to hunt and that’s animal poaching,” Ntuli says.

He warned that declining wildlife numbers could affect the reserve’s ability to attract visitors.

Ntuli called on MTPA and THLTO to work with the reserve to protect and preserve its wildlife.

 

Food and cultural experiences

Food and cultural experiences also formed part of the tour, with Ntshwane saying local guest houses, butcheries and chesa nyamas offered visitors an opportunity to experience African and traditional cuisine.

“In all the guest houses and chesa nyamas that we visited, they cater marvellous food, very scrumptious food which is mouth-watering, and that is African and traditional food that all tourists will want to experience,” he says.

Ntshwane says Kghodwana Cultural Village also provides visitors with an opportunity to learn about the area’s history and heritage.

“At Kghodwana, that is where tourists will find cultural experience and history, how people were living, the evolution from back centuries up until today. It shows how our people have evolved while preserving their culture,” he says.

Thembisile Hani Local Municipality MMC for Community Development Themba Ntuli says the municipality participated in the tour because of tourism’s potential contribution to the local economy.

“As Thembisile Hani Local Municipality we took part in this tour because this is a very important tour for our municipality, for our people, for our local economy. Therefore, being part of this tour we have local influencers who are doing well. We took them on this tour to help us advertise our beautiful place in Mpumalanga,” Ntuli says.

He also highlighted Solomon Mahlangu Stadium as an attraction, noting that it now hosts professional football matches, including TS Galaxy.

 

Restoring Zithabiseni Resort

While the tour showcased tourism attractions across Thembisile Hani, the condition of Zithabiseni Resort emerged as one of the key concerns, with stakeholders calling for collective efforts to restore the once-popular destination.

Youth activist Thando Mahlangu said it was painful to see the resort in its current state, particularly because of the economic opportunities it once provided to surrounding communities.

“Through this place, people were able to feed their families, they were able to generate an economy and they were able to fulfil their needs. We call upon all stakeholders to partake in rehabilitating this resort so that it can continue to generate local economy and to create job opportunities for our locals,” Mahlangu said.

THLTO chairperson Ntshwane said the rehabilitation should begin with local businesses and stakeholders before attracting investors from outside the area.

“In order for Zithabiseni Resort to come back to life again, we need to take part in rehabilitating it here at home first. The rehabilitation must start with us. Therefore, we need to engage with our local stakeholders and business people around Thembisile Hani and Mpumalanga as a whole to invest in rehabilitating Zithabiseni Resort,” Ntshwane said.

MTPA Product Marketing Manager Londi Dos Santos said the agency was also concerned about the condition of the resort.

“As the MTPA, our purpose is to provide sustainable management and promotion of tourism and nature conservation in Mpumalanga. Therefore, we are not happy with the current state of Zithabiseni Resort,” Dos Santos said.

 

Building a tourism destination

Dos Santos said the tour demonstrated the variety of tourism products available in the area.

“Thembisile Hani has a complete tourism value chain. From Zithabiseni Resort that needs to be revived, to SS Skhosana Nature Reserve for nature lovers, to Kghodwana Cultural Village for cultural tourists, to our guest houses that offer comfortable accommodation and our chisa nyamas and butcheries that offer divine food, this area is ready for tourism,” she said.

The tour highlighted the potential of local tourism while also drawing attention to challenges such as the condition of Zithabiseni Resort and wildlife poaching at SS Skhosana Nature Reserve.

Organisers hope the initiative will attract visitors, support local businesses, build partnerships and create economic opportunities for communities in Thembisile Hani.