27 Sep 2015

The second Makgadikgadi Epic is expected to attract more people than the inaugural event. The event is slated for October 2-4 at one of the country’s tourist attraction areas, Makgadikgadi Pans.

Speaking to the media, Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) CEO, Thabo Dithebe, said they were expecting a significant growth with the second edition in terms of spectators because dates coincided with long holidays hence a lot of people would have time to travel to the pans.

Dithebe said they decided to move dates to October because last year they learnt that weather conditions for the month of August were not suitable for sky divers.

Dithebe said they would introduce some exciting activities such as hot air balloons for those who would like aerial view of the Makgadikgadi Pans.

He also said there would be a contemporary traditional music event, which he said they felt it would add value to the Makgadikgadi Epic.

Meanwhile, Dithebe said after the first Makgadikgadi Epic, BTO conducted a study to provide baseline data against which the economic impact of future events could be measured.

The survey was conducted in four components of spectators, business, accommodation and skydivers.

Findings of the survey revealed that most businesses had recorded a significant increase in terms of sales during the epic.

The total revenue sales for all the businesses stood at P2.17 million during the weekend of the epic as compared to P665 685 during a normal weekend.

As for accommodation, a total of eight facilities were interviewed and all of them were located in Nata, while the demand for accommodation space was high during the epic. ENDS