Temporal and spatial variations of tourists in the Kruger National Park.

M.Sc.OBJECTIVES Tourism in the Kruger National Park is closely linked to nature conservation. Tourism being the revenue earner and conservation the resource provider; this results in a mutually beneficial symbiosis. This finely tuned interdependence between tourism and conservation should be properly managed to ensure that tourism does not become a self-destructive process, destroying the very resources on which it is based. Mounting pressure from central government is forcing the National Parks Board to become financially independent of State grants. Tourism provides the most viable solution towards achieving financial independence. All the national parks in South Africa will therefore have to make a concerted effort to accommodate and attract more tourists. The Kruger National Park, being the largest national park (1 948 528 hectares), will have to make a major contribution towards financial independence. In order to achieve this goal, tourism in this Park will have to be planned and managed more effectively. It is within this context that this study was initiated. In order to facilitate future tourism planning and management, the study will investigate the number of tourists visiting the Kruger National Park as well as the occupation of accommodation by tourists. These results will in turn be used to investigate the tourist carrying capacity of the Park and to make suggestions regarding the Park's tourism management policies. RESEARCH METHOD As a result of the primarily descriptive nature of the investigation relating to the number of tourists visiting the Park as well as the occupation of accommodation by tourists, the research will include diagrammatic and cartographic representations of the data. In order to explain the temporal and spatial variations of the tourists in the Kruger National Park, a correlation and regression analysis was used in conjunction with non-tourist variables (which include both socio-economic and physical variables). The results obtained in the above investigation were used to study the physical and perceptual tourist carrying capacity. Physical tourist carrying capacity was researched by indicating the percentage occupation of available accommodation and available day visitor quota. As a result of the its subjective nature, the balance between the costs and benefits associated with gaining a holiday experience was used in conjunction with the number of visitors to the Park in order to determine the perceptual tourist carrying capacity. RESULTS The number of visitors to the Park as well as the occupation of accommodation by tourists both indicated that large temporal and spatial variations exist. The temporal variations in tourist data were best explained by school holidays. An obvious relationship exists between school holidays and the number of visitors to the Park. The spatial variation was best explained by distance from the PWV and rainfall. The distance from the PWV (now Gauteng Province) indicates the strong influence of this region as a source area for tourists to the Park. Rainfall in the Park influences the type of vegetation, which in turn influences the distribution and population densities of animals which are sought after by tourists. With regard to the tourist carrying capacity, the results showed that the physical tourist carrying capacity is utilised below the optimum levels. More tourists can therefore be accommodated, particularly during non-school holiday periods. With reference to the perceptual tourist carrying capacity, it was found that it has been reached. The most important reason for this is the higher tariffs that are being charged