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Nyika Tourism on death bed

The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with poor road network and alien invasive species like Bracken Ferns and Black Wattle that have attacked hectares of Nyika National Park, have been identified as leading factors negatively affecting tourism of the site.

Department of Parks and Wildlife director Brighton Kumchedwa said they are losing at least K3 million each month following termination of contract by Concessionaire Central African Wilderness Safaris to run Chelinda Lodge and Camp.

The facility, which is a high-end tourism attraction, has largely been receiving international tourists, but with the global travel restrictions due to the pandemic, loss of business forced the operator to cancel the concession agreement.

This means since October, the department has lost about K30 million to this month, which Kumchedwa has decried and will continue losing that revenue until a new Concessionaire is found.

Tourist number to Nyika National Park have declined

He said: “It’s been a difficult period, because each month we were getting between K3 million and K4 million. While I may not have the exact numbers of people who were coming, but numbers have gone down, and this means we are also not getting enough from gate collections.

“We are now in discussion with Peace Parks Foundation, on how we can work together, once we finalise the agreement, we hope to find a Concessionaire together to run the facility.”

But that is not just the only problem for Nyika National Park. The Park has now been infested by invasive species of plants such as Pines, Bracken Ferns and Black Wattle that are alien to the plateau.

These alien plants are talking over the grassland, pushing out wild species of animals because largely, the Plateau is patronised by grazers.

There is also poor road network to Nyika, as the 60 kilometers stretch from Rumphi Boma is characterised by huge gullies, making it difficult for small vehicles to pass through, but also that the road becomes impassable during rainy seasons.

Park manager for Nyika National Park, Anthony Chikwemba said over 1 000 hectares of land has been infested with alien species in the Park.

“If you are talking about tourism, some tourists come to see animals and they want to see them in their natural environment, not these introduced ones,” he said.

Recently, Minister of Tourism, Parks and Wildlife Michael Usi said government was scouting for another investor to manage Nyika National Park Chelinda Lodge and Camp.

“From now on, we will prefer a consortium and not a single company to run the facility to avoid a repeat of the scenario we faced,” he said.

Usi also admitted that for the park to attract more tourists there is a need to improve the road to the park, which is in poor condition and almost cut off during the rainy season to bitumen level.

Malawi’s travel and tourism contribution to the gross domestic product (DGP) declined by 50.2 percent in 2020, according to published figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

During the year under review, tourism and trade contributed 3.3 percent of GDP or K207 billion, down from 2019’s 6.7 percent or K416 billion.

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