South Africa’s Only Ski Resort Set For Major Upgrade
While it may be the only ski resort in South Africa, Tiffindell is set for a major revamp over the coming 12 months with new owners TiffSki announcing a massive investment in the resort. The expansion will bring the resort up to the standard of some of the better venues around the world with hopes that it will grab a large share of the 100,000 South Africans who venture overseas for their skiing experiences.
Situated high up in the Ben McDhui mountain range, the Tiffindell ski resort has been around since 1993, but did not attract the kind of investment needed to pull in even home grown skiers, let alone those from foreign lands. The new owners are set to create accommodation for an additional 250 people, bring in some of the best ski instructors in the world and add more slopes to the complex.
When you also consider that they will be introducing better medical facilities, hotels, restaurants, a conference centre, gym and an ice rink, you start to get a feel of the planned changes. The popularity of skiing has become a major tourist attraction over the last decade and is now accessible by the masses, not just a selected few. The quality ski resorts around the world have often created their own mini-property booms with local property often increasing on the back of more visitors, and more people wishing to acquire property in the area.
While the ski developments at Tiffindell were originally planned for January 2008, the majority of the changes have now been put back to September with more time needed to finalise plans, etc. The fact that South Africa actually has its own proper ski resort will probably come as a surprise to many, although the planned changes are sure to put this brand new development on the skiing map. The growth in demand of two centre holidays means South Africa is well positioned to take advantage of this trend offering its visitors not only beaches, safari and city living but also skiing. More visitors means more properties, which means the start of what could be a very lucrative property market – watch this space.
