THE EASTERN Cape’s tourism industry has been given a boost by the arrival of six Kalahari lions in the Addo Elephant National Park. South African National Parks manager Dr Mike Knight told the SA Tourism Business Conference in Port Elizabeth that the introduction of the lions into the rapidly-expanding park should boost tourist numbers from the current 122 000 visitors a year to 200 000 over the next five years. Lion and other major predators such as hyena and wild dogs were first reintroduced into the Eastern Cape by the private Shamwari reserve. They can now be seen in a number of exclusive private reserves around the province. Addo, as a a public reserve, is more accessible to South African tourists and foreigners working on a budget. It is also recognised as offering the finest elephant viewing in Africa. Presently, 55 per cent of visitors are foreigners. They come to the Eastern Cape mainly from Germany, England and the Netherlands. Six Kalahari lions are being introduced in the Addo Elephant Park as part of the plan to develop the Greater Addo Elephant Park into the only Big Seven national park in Africa. The Big Seven are the elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo, great white shark and whale. Speaking at a Tourism Business conference in Port Elizabeth, Knight said that of the 122 000 people that currently visited the park annually, 55 per cent were foreigners. They were mainly from Germany, England and the Netherlands. “It is predicted that the number of visitors will increase to more than 200 000 in the next five years,” Knight said. He said the main objectives for the park were to guarantee the long-term conservation of the region’s unique biodiversity patterns and processes through expansion. “We also want to reduce the critical threats facing the park, provide efficient and effective management and promote a sustainable and inclusive ecotourism industry, while promoting capacity building in neighbouring communities and institutions. It could become the economic engine of an impoverished Eastern Cape,” he said.