Pilgrim’s Rest, once a premier tourist destination in Mpumalanga, is now struggling with a sharp decline in visitors, according to residents and business owners who point to prolonged government inaction on key infrastructure and the extended closure of the historic Royal Hotel.
The Royal Hotel, widely regarded as the town’s main tourist drawcard, has remained shut for more than a year despite renovations being completed. Locals expressed frustration over the slow pace of awarding a tender for its operation.
“It’s been renovated, it’s been redone… but the tenders are not awarded,” one resident said. “I can’t believe that it can take that long.”
Many in the community depend heavily on tourism for their livelihoods, and unemployment has reached alarming levels as businesses close or scale back operations. The prolonged closure of the Royal Hotel and lack of progress at a nearby mine have further reduced economic activity.
While some have linked the downturn to illegal mining activities—often referred to locally as “Zama zamas”—several residents pushed back against this narrative, arguing that the miners are not the primary cause of the tourism collapse.
“Nothing wrong about the Zamas. They must just leave the Zamas alone,” one local stated. “If they want to employ us, let them employ us… In terms of jobs, there are no jobs.”
Another emphasised the town’s low crime rate despite the presence of illegal miners: “Guys, it’s not [the Zamas] killing our town. We have zero crime in our town. Nothing… So to blame the Zamas is wrong. Yes, it’s bad for the environment… but it’s not their fault that we don’t have tourism.”
On the other side of the issue, police have intensified operations against illegal mining. A multi-disciplinary enforcement team has been active in the area since March.
On Thursday 9 April, authorities arrested about 10 suspects for illegal mining and related crimes in Pilgrim’s Rest. The following day, 10 April, two more suspects were detained in Ngodwana. On the morning of 11 April 2026, another 11 suspects were arrested in Pilgrim’s Rest for similar offences.
Since the operations began, more than 800 suspected illegal miners have been arrested, with gold-bearing material and equipment seized.
In response to concerns about the Royal Hotel, the provincial government expressed optimism that the facility would reopen soon. A spokesperson for the department confirmed that the process of appointing a service provider to take over operations is advancing.
“The department is currently in the process of appointing a service provider that will take over the operations of Pilgrim’s Rest Hotel,” the spokesperson said. “At the moment, the bid adjudication committee is about to recommend a name of a service provider to be appointed by the head of department.”
Business owners in the area are hopeful that the hotel will be leased and operational again in the near future, which they believe could help revive the town’s fortunes.
The situation in Pilgrim’s Rest highlights ongoing tensions between heritage tourism, economic survival, environmental concerns, and law enforcement efforts in the historic mining town.