02 Mar 2015

The Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) is working on ways to make sure that Batswana enjoy reduced rates when embarking on vacations to tourist areas within Botswana, says BTO newly appointed chief executive office,r Mr Thabo Dithebe.

Briefing the media on  BTO’s roadmap under his tenure, Mr Dithebe said concerns coming from Batswanaciting steep prices was well understood and BTO is doing everything it can to address such.

“We want locals to enjoy the beauty of their country and we are in discussions to have reduced rates for locals,” he said. Mr Dithebe indicated that he had been with BTO for over six years at executive management level and therefore understood the diversification strategy plan that looked to drive BTO from 2013-2018.

He said he believed the tourism industry was an area with huge prospects for growth in Botswana and he was the right man to lead the organisation.

“Some of the projects that we undertook to attract locals and people from outside are the Makgadikgadi Epic and Khawa Dune Challenge just to name a few and they have been greatly received,” he said, adding that this year BTO has proposed to have a Botswana Air Race.

Speaking on initiatives that BTO is looking at to stimulate tourism growth in Botswana; Mr Dithebe said these are the Maun Educational Park, the Kasane/Kazungula Tourism Redevelopment and the Diamond Pavilion and Tourism Precinct in Gaborone.

“We feel that these 3 mentioned projects are key to the growth and future of tourism in Botswana,” he said, adding that BTO believes that under the product diversification theme, the three projects will do wonders to Botswana’s tourism.

“There are ample opportunities in the tourism industry and it is up to us to make sure that we do the right things and give the necessary attention to these initiatives,” said Mr Dithebe.

He said BTO already has an established product in the form of ecotourism which is made up of wildlife and wilderness experience. “We have that in Botswana but we need to go further and create more products. We do not have enough products and it is high time we make this a priority,” he said.

Mr Dithebe said other countries are not endowed with wildlife like Botswana, but they have still found time to create other products that attract tourists to their respective countries.

“We have the Thuli Block, the Okavango and Kalahari Game Reserve among others but other than that what is next after these people visit these areas,” quizzed Mr Dithebe.

He said the main focus of BTO’s diversification strategy is on sport and adventure tourism. “There are more things coming that will add to the already existing initiatives. BTO will also focus on the cultural heritage tourism,” he said, adding that travelers nowadays want authentic travel destinations.

Mr Dithebe said BTO is also looking to improve the look and feel of Botswana’s tourism hubs, improve amenities and public transport and the attitude of Batswana towards visitors.

Speaking on community projects that are underway and their progress, the BTO CEO said the Tsabong Eco-Tourism Camel Park has commenced.
“The park employs 28 people in total, only six chalets have been developed and going forward the project will be expanded with additional chalets and infrastructure to realize full potential of the project,” he said.

He further said another community project is the Seboba Nature & Recreational Park which employs twenty two (22) people from Kasane and operations are going well.

He indicated that bird watching activities are being developed with BirdLife Botswana at the Nature & Recreational Park. “Another project is the Lepokole Nature Reserve which employs nine (9) people and facilities available there are just the camping grounds.

 The Nature Reserve now has Impala, Zebra and Eland which have adapted well,” said Mr Dithebe.  He said additional facilities like chalets will be built to attract different groups to enhance the viability of the project.

In addition, Mr Dithebe said the Gcwihaba/Koanaka caves are also another project and development of camping facilities  and will soon be completed. He went on to say that improving access, lighting and providing permanent water sources at the caves is crucial and it is planned to be completed in 2015.

Mr Dithebe further touched on using Botswana’s dams for tourism. He said the master plan for Gaborone Dam is complete and sites are available for investment.

“Preparation of tourism master plans for Thune, Letsibogo has commenced and scheduled to be completed in August 2015,” he said, indicating that as for Dikgatlhong and Shashe procurement for the tourism master plans is ongoing.

“There are good opportunities for new products and water based activities,” he said. He said BTO is on a six months global campaign to counter the “Boycott Botswana Tourism Campaign” by Survival International.

He said there is also a campaign that is targeted to various continents through the BBC World and Travel Chanel. “A total of 513 television slots on BBCWorld targeting different programmes and broadcast at prime time. 

Another total of 300 commercial slots on Travel Channel for tourism promotion and footprint for 3 months and currently airing,” he said, adding that the commercial have amassed 12.5 million television views and 5.2 million online hits.

Mr Dithebe also said BTO will embark on road shows and targeted fairs in key source markets such as Australia, USA, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia as an emerging market.
Speaking on challenges that have besieged BTO, Mr Dithebe said there is a need for a fund for tourism development and promotion of Botswana.

“There are also fragmented and inconsistent efforts on branding and promoting Botswana from different sectors of the country,” he said, also adding that air access is a huge challenge in Botswana, especially the frequency of flights within Botswana.

He further said should constantly look at her preparedness for emergency evacuations when the need arises so that tourists feel safe. Mr Dithebe has been acting CEO of BTO for the past thirteen (13) months and now occupies the top post and will be tasked with steering the ship to steady and better waters. ENDS