{"id":34656,"date":"2026-05-16T16:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=34656"},"modified":"2026-05-16T16:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:00:37","slug":"kruger-remains-one-of-sas-top-tourist-destinations","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/kruger-remains-one-of-sas-top-tourist-destinations\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Kruger remains one of SA\u2019s top tourist destinations\u2019 \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>South African National (SAN) Parks says the Kruger National Park remains one of SA\u2019s most important tourism and conservation destinations as the iconic reserve celebrates 100 years since it was officially declared the country\u2019s first national park.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Kruger National Park, which spans nearly two million hectares across Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, attracts close to two million visitors annually from SA and around the world.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Originally established as a game reserve, Kruger was officially proclaimed a national park in 1926, becoming a cornerstone of SA\u2019s conservation and ecotourism sector.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during the centenary celebrations, SANParks Executive Hapiloe Sello described the park as a global leader in biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage preservation and ecotourism.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sello said Kruger continues to play a major role in attracting both international and domestic tourists, while also contributing to conservation and economic development.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She described the park as \u201can icon of SA\u201d and praised its legacy as a centre of excellence in natural tourism and environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32036,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-34656","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Kruger National Park remains one of SA\u2019s most important tourism and conservation destinations","published_date":"2026-05-16 15:53:34","news_description":"Kruger National Park remains one of SA\u2019s most important tourism and conservation destinations","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34657,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34656\/revisions\/34657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}