South African National Park (SANParks) held the Sfree-dayal Parks Week from 16 to 25 September. The week saw 94 203 free-day visitors participate in the campaign compared to last year’s 72 166. This campaign under the established theme ‘Know Your National Parks’ allowed South Africans an opportunity to spend a day at a national park of their choice free of charge.

According to SANParks CEO, Hapiloe Sello the objective of the week is to give all South Africans a chance to enjoy and experience the beauty and majesty of the breath-taking National Parks.

“We had just over 94,000 people visit the parks during the focus week this year which is 30% higher than 2022’s numbers. National Parks Week aims to create a culture of pride in all South Africans in their relationship with the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage. When people start to take pride in the national parks, then we believe that they will start to understand the importance of conservation”.

Since its inception in 2006, National Parks Week has seen an influx of 785 621-day visitors in all participating parks. The annual SA National Parks Week was made possible with support from TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa and First National Bank. “Without our partners this week would not have materialised and South Africans would not be able to visit our parks free of charge,” said Sello.

SANParks thanks all South Africans who took part in this week, especially educators and school groups.

 “The survival of the South African national parks system and our natural and cultural heritage lies in the people of South Africa, and we are focused on involving young people and communities, to cultivate knowledge of the importance of conservation and an appreciation for the country’s natural heritage,”” concludes Sello.