Unesco members voted in favor of the inclusion of South Africa's Garden Route as a biosphere reserve at a meeting in Paris on June 14.
South Africa's environmental affairs minister, Edna Molewa, welcomed the news and said: "The positive response to the application to declare the Garden Route a biosphere reserve is most encouraging, not just for us as a country but also for the people of the region.
"The Garden Route, one of South Africa's prime tourism regions, is an area rich in terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems where conservation of the rich biodiverse region is ably reconciled with sustainable use practices," the minister added.
The area includes the Tsitsikamma, Goukamma and Robberg Marine protected areas, Wilderness Lake Ramsar site, Garden Route National Park and two components of the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage site: the Nelson Bay Cave and the Langkloof Valley, the latter being critically endangered.
The announcement comes at a time when the region could use the added tourism exposure. The Garden Route is desperately recovering from devastating fires in the beginning of June that displaced thousands and caused extensive infrastructure in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay as well as natural heritage damage.
Following the fires, huge number of cancellations from international tourists were reported. However, travel industry players have assured travelers that the region is indeed open for business, with the majority of Knysna's tourism offering remaining intact and popular festivals, such as the Oyster Festival, going ahead.
Henk Graaff, managing director of SW Africa, said his company will continue to support the Garden Route as a fantastic leisure and meetings and incentive destination. "The majority of our international clients to Knysna stay at or around the Waterfront and on Leisure Isle, which has fortunately been spared from the fires."
Meanwhile, the Garden Route National Park has said its aerial survey following the fatal southern cape fire has revealed the park suffered minimal damage