South African National Parks (SANParks), which is led by two powerful women, continues to inspire as it celebrates 100 years of Kruger National Park.
SANParks is led by environmental advocate and former member of parliament, Beryl Ferguson as interim chairperson and Hapiloe Sello, who became the first black female CEO of the organisation since its founding in 1926.
Sello turned the fortunes of SANParks around since her arrival in 2023, as she and her dedicated team had reached a landmark milestone by breaking through the R4-billion revenue mark for the first in the entity’s history.
SANParks, which is the official government agency responsible for managing South Africa’s premier conservation areas, oversees 21 national parks and 10 marine protected areas covering more than 44 595 square kilometres across the country.
Sello said that it was a great milestone the agency was gearing forward to contribute immensely to the economy of the country through its involvement in tourism as hordes of tourists from across the world frequent SANParks sites such as Kruger National Park, Table Mountain, Kgalagadi, Golden Gate Highlands, Mapungubwe, Karoo, Garden Route among many of its tourist attraction destinations.
“SANParks prides itself of being a great agency aimed at putting the country’s tourism to the world. We are at the forefront of making sure that our tourism clients get the most amazing experience when they visit our establishments.
Sello also said it was crucial for the entity’s image to be at the Africa’s Travel Indaba, which is currently being held at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, since Monday until Thursday.
SANParks ‘going strong’
“Africa’s Travel Indaba remained an important platform to showcase how conservation could contribute to tourism, job creation and economic inclusion across the continent. We are also proud to state that during the financial year ending March 31, 2026, SANParks welcomed 6.8-million tourists across all its sites. This was a very heartening number because it was the first time we had surpassed the 2019 volume as that year was pre-Covid-19, our last normal year in our industry. We believe that we have fully recovered now from the pandemic and we are going strong to build a great legacy in the conservation space,” she said.
On Wednesday, SANParks hosted its flagship programme “Conversations About Conservation” dialogue, where it had brought together tourism leaders, conservation experts, media and business stakeholders to discuss the future of conservation funding, tourism growth and community partnerships.
Speaking at the Conversations About Conservation, Ferguson said that Africa’s Travel Indaba is more than a marketplace, pointing out that it is in actual setting that it’s a meeting of ideas, ambition and responsibility.
‘More than an iconic destination’
“We gather here at a particularly meaningful time in South Africa’s conservation journey, as we commemorate 100 years of the Kruger National Park. Proclaimed in 1926, Kruger has grown into one of the most recognisable protected landscapes in the world – a place of extraordinary biodiversity, scientific excellence and tourism appeal. Kruger is more than an iconic destination. It is a living landscape shaped by time, learning and change. Long before its proclamation, the land, the people and the wildlife were already here – connected through history, culture and ecology. Over the past century, conservation in Kruger has evolved, responding to new knowledge, new pressures and new societal expectations. It reminds us that conservation is not static; it is dynamic, human and deeply contextual.
In the democratic era, SANParks, together with government and community stakeholders, worked to address these legacies through land restitution, co‑management arrangements, heritage recognition and benefit‑sharing initiatives. This ongoing work underscores a simple but enduring principle: conservation can only succeed, and endure, when it is inclusive,” said Ferguson.
- South African National Parks (SANParks), which is led by two powerful women, continues to inspire as it celebrates 100 years of Kruger National Park.
- SANParks is led by environmental advocate and former member of parliament, Beryl Ferguson as interim chairperson and Hapiloe Sello, who became the first black female CEO of the organisation since its founding in 1926.
- Sello turned the fortunes of SANParks around since her arrival in 2023, as she and her dedicated team had reached a landmark milestone by breaking through the R4-billion revenue mark for the first in the entity’s history.
- SANParks, which is the official government agency responsible for managing South Africa’s premier conservation areas, oversees 21 national parks and 10 marine protected areas covering more than 44 595 square kilometres across the country.
- Wildlife is what SANParks is passionate about.
