Kruger National Park, Research Paper Example

Kruger National Park is famous as sanctuary for the world’s rare wildlife, especially the near-extinct white and black rhinos. With 10 000 white rhinos and 500 black rhinos (2009 statistics), Kruger is “home to the largest rhino population in the world” (Strickland, 2010, p. 406). This distinction, in addition to offering diverse wildlife and easy viewing experiences due to advanced transport infrastructure, makes Kruger one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. To maintain a wildlife-friendly ecosystem, Kruger has implemented ambitious environmental management techniques, research and policies aimed at conserving its rich biodiversity. It also started a game-capture program in the 1980s that allowed it to not only conserve threatened species, but also introduce selected animal species to previously unoccupied areas. With a diverse fauna and flora community consisting of 336 species of trees, 147 mammals, 507 birds, 114 reptiles, 34 amphibians, and 47 fish, Kruger is the flagship of South Africa’s 22 national parks, and the best tourist attraction in Africa (Strickland, p. 407). In terms of accommodation, the park boasts 21 rest camps, 11 safari lodges and 7 lodge concessions This unrivaled record of biodiversity, environmental management, research and infrastructure, affords Kruger an enviable competitive advantage in the tourism industry. The rich animal and plant life create a beautiful wildlife scenery that attracts tourists from around the world.

As part of its competitive strategy, Kruger has implemented veterinary park services to help protect and conserve its animal population. They include capture, holding and translocation operations aimed at regulating animal populations, as well as species conservation, wildlife exchange and regional cooperation. In addition, the management of the park has implemented an anti-poaching policy to protect the threatened rhino population. Another competitive strategy is the rhino hunting program, which offers hunters a rare wildlife experience. With a charge of $82,400 per hunter (2009 rates), the park generates an annual average of $4.8 billion from hunting alone, which accounts for 70% of total income (Strickland, 2010, p. 413). The park also introduced “safari packages” that offered additional tourist attractions such as photo safaris and wedding packages alongside hunting services, which helped to increase revenue generation. Additional services include full lodging with traditional catering, free wine and beer, laundry services, hunting vehicles, as well as professional and trained hunter staff. Thus, by offering world class services and attractive packages, Kruger National Park has risen to be among the world’s leading tourist destinations.

Overall, Kruger National Park’s corporate strategy is to increase the number of tourists it receives annually. Towards this end, the management has focused on a conservation-conscious policy that includes “Green Jobs, Human Capacity, Research, Policy and Monitoring of Biodiversity health” ((SA Parliamentary Monitoring Group, 2010). Additionally, besides the quest to offer attractive service packages and conserving its wildlife diversity, the park’s management has focused on encouraging black tourists by promoting domestic tourism, expanding the conservation estate, wildlife diversification and adopting modern technology in marketing and service delivery These policies are intended to revolutionize the South African tourism industry into a world class tourist destination.

References

SA Parliamentary Monitoring Group. (2010). South African National Parks (SANParks) briefing

on their functions, objectives, targets and challenges 2009/10-2013 and Budget 2009/10. Retrieved March 04, 2012< http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20100310-south-african-national-parks-sanparks-briefing-their-functions-object

Strickland, A. J. (2010). Rhino Culture in Kruger National Park. USA: University of Alabama.