Gorongosa National Park (GNP) has already received many proposals of interest on the part of diverse national and foreign tourism operators, after a notice was published by several media publications in which GNP invited companies to nominate themselves for the development of tourism activities inside the limits of the Park.
Areas where the GNP is accepting proposals for the development of tourism activities
According to the administration of this conservation area, the investors’ response to the contest, that in this first phase is accepting letters of intent up to the 1st of October of 2009, has already surpassed expectations. Subsequently, the proposals will be evaluated by a Selection Committee fully composed of Mozambican citizens, using the following criteria:
- Financial resources
- Experience in Ecotourism and marketing capacity
- Commitment to local communities
- “Green” business practices
It is important to accentuate that during the meeting on the 15th of October, the Selection Committee reserves the right not to investigate the proposals in which the candidates do not include the mandatory requirements. In this context, there will be another opportunity to receive more requests that will be evaluated in 2010.
Concerning the matter, we interviewed the two members of the Oversight Committee of the Park who represent the Carr Foundation and the Ministry of Tourism.
We began our interviews with the representative from the Foundation, Mr. Greg Carr.
Carlitos: Many international television programs have made documentaries about Gorongosa and I believe that the time has arrived for National Geographic to produce a film about GNP. Can you give us some details?
Greg: A few days ago I saw a rough cut of the National Geographic film with a small international audience. They loved the documentary and the comments showed how amazed they were with the beauty of Gorongosa. The film will premier to the world in the beginning of next year and I know that it is going to attract a large number of tourists to Mozambique.
Carlitos: What has the response been so far to the national/international public competition for the development of tourism activities in GNP?
Greg: Many investors expressed interest and we have already had visits to Gorongosa from a large number of international and national tourism companies for them to evaluate the opportunities to build camps and “lodges”. When they arrived they were astonished with the quantity of wild animals in the Park. They were also pleased with the professionalism and integrity of our team, 99% of which is from Mozambique. Similarly, they were satisfied after learning that the financial management of the Restoration Project is transparent and after understanding that they will know exactly how their financial contributions will be applied for the protection and conservation of natural flora and fauna, in the case that they are accepted in the contest now in progress.
We also asked a few questions to the representative from the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Beca Jofrisse:
Carlitos: You, Mr. Beca Jofrisse, in cooperation with Mr. Greg Carr, constitute the Oversight Committee of GNP. Can you speak a bit about the other members of the management team?
Jofrisse: Our new management structure consists of Carlos Lopes Pereira as the director of Conservation, Mateus Mutemba, director of Community Relations, Vasco Galante, director of Tourist Development and William Wright, director of Operations and Infrastructure.
Carlitos: What are the interactions like between each one of these departments and tourism operators?
Jofrisse: Each tourism operator should implement a sustainable development project with the nearest communities and Mateus Mutemba will help that happen. Carlos Lopes Pereira, as the director of Conservation, is going to work with the tourism operators to reduce illegal hunting so the tourists can see a great deal of wildlife in the Park. Vasco Galante, the Tourist Development director, will help the tourism operators to publicize their services and activities on an international and national level in order to increase the amount of business and consequently the revenue of the Park. Bill Wright, as the director of Operations and Infrastructures, is going to help the tourism operators in the planning of their camps and “lodges”.
Carlitos: What statistics does the Gorongosa Restoration Project take about the 2009 tourist period and about the visitors that the PNG has received?
Jofrisse: Progress has been noticeable and this is shown by all the people that have come to visit the Park. We have had many thousands of tourists, of national and international origin, including South Africans, Portuguese, American, German, Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Indian. In 2009 we expect a growth of 40% in the number of visitors in relation to 2008, knowing that in 2008 we had a growth in that order of magnitude in comparison to 2007.
This is remarkable, considering the current international financial crisis. One of the key factors for this success is undoubtedly the interest of international and national news media about the Restoration Project of Gorongosa National Park, one of the places that tourists that visit us invariably come to know as one of the last Paradises on Earth.
He gave an example among many that can be seen on our website www.gorongosa.net: The famous Portuguese singer Rui Veloso was with us for three days and visited us to fulfill an old dream: to go on a photographic safari in a place that would represent the best that the African savannah has to offer. I can attest that the expectations that he brought were largely satisfied and the reporting team that accompanied him is soon going to show excellent images of Gorongosa that are going to attract more and more tourists from all over the world to our country and to Gorongosa.