Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden came out tops in the recently announced 2015 International Garden Tourism Awards presented by the International Garden Tourism Network (IGTN) in Toronto, Canada.
Scooping the Garden of the Year Award has once more underlined the important role that Kirstenbosch plays in contributing to the country’s tourism figures and, having hit the one million visitors in a year in 2014, this award is a further boost for potential visitors.
“Flagship garden”
It is well known that Kirstenbosch is high on the list of ‘must visit’ attractions for both local and international tourists and curator Philip le Roux was delighted to receive this news.
“We strive to offer visitors a unique experience at Kirstenbosch,” he said. “As the flagship garden of the South African National Biodiversity institute (SANBI) we are proud to be recognised at these prestigious awards. Our garden offers many unusual experiences and showcases the diverse Cape Floral kingdom in a very accessible way. The addition of the Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway has added to the attractions of the garden and, more recently, Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom acknowledged that Kirstenbosch is one of the country’s most important tourist attractions. We are also very proud to announce that we exceeded one million visitors in one year for the first time in the Garden’s history in 2014. This represented an increase of 27% on the previous year.”
250 million garden tourists worldwide
With tourism the world’s fourth largest industry and garden tourism a significant part of it, the Awards were inaugurated in 2011 and Garden Tourism Awards are presented annually to organisations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction.
Says Dr. Richard Benfield, author of Garden Tourism, and Chair of the IGTN, “It is estimated that there are 250 million garden tourists worldwide and significantly more if garden festivals, events and garden shows were included. Canada has been a leader in the development and promotion of garden tourism and these awards highlight the world’s most dynamic garden experiences and Garden Tourism’s limitless potential.”
In consultation with a global jury network, nine awards were announced by the IGTN, and garden tourism related events from Japan, UK, Thailand, Brussels, British Columbia, Dubai, Netherlands, USA as well as South Africa were honoured.
PHOTO CREDIT: Arne Purves
