Johannesburg - Black people made up 21.4% of visitors to South Africa's national parks in the 2007/08 financial year, Sanparks chief executive David Mabunda said on Wednesday.
This was up from 18% in the previous year, he told a media briefing in Pretoria.
"This reflects growth in day visitors of 19.8% and in overnight visitors of 36.5%," said Mabunda, while presenting Sanparks' fifth unqualified financial report.
Sanparks had however seen a 5.6% decrease in the number of people visiting its parks. But camping continued to grow in popularity, with numbers increasing 6.7%.
Mabunda said he was aware that "times were tough" due to the current global financial crisis.
On plans for the 2010 World Cup, Sanparks director for tourism development and marketing Glenn Phillips said the Kruger Parks' Skukuza camp would be utilised during the spectacle.
He said an additional 420 beds would be set up.
- Sapa