25 Apr 2016

 The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale says traditional nature based tourism has reached maturity and that there is need for product diversification in the sector. 

Mr Molale said it was this realisation that motivated the government to embark on a systematic process of change or review of tourism policy as well as continuous improvement of the product.

The minister was speaking at the annual Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference in Maun on April 22.

He also observed that there was need to reflect on the policy in view of the complex and dynamic nature of tourism. 

The minister further stated that some aspects of the policy had become redundant as they have been overtaken by events and trends in the international tourism business environment.

In this regard, Mr Molale explained that product diversification entailed the development of new and innovative ways to broaden the tourism product so that it could appeal to diverse interests, desires and characters of today’s tourists.

Many tourists, he said, travelled out of a desire for adventure and wished to experience the unknown. 

He said travelling to exotic destinations has become an opportunity for them to satisfy their curiosity.

Viewed in this context, Mr Molale said the market opportunities were plentiful and that the only challenge was to devise innovative ideas that could be converted into tangible products to enrich tourist visitor experience and diversify the product.

The minister, however, stressed that the role of the government was to provide an enabling environment conducive to the thriving private sector.

In this regard, he said product diversification could possibly pose a challenge whilst simultaneously providing a fresh opportunity for all industry players to reposition Botswana as a tourism destination of choice awash with a myriad of exciting things to do and see. In cognizance of this, Mr Molale told participants that the government has initiated some niche tourism projects in the segments of sports, adventure, culture and heritage tourism.

Most of these, he said, were still at the formative stages and that the objective was to grow them into annual mega events to add to the touristic vibrancy, authenticity of experience and destination appeal of Botswana.

The minister said the recently introduced Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) would go a long way in developing various tourism nodes, including the Kasane Kazungula Redevelopment Mega Project, to preserve the natural integrity of the area while optimising on the economic benefits that would accrue through sustainable tourism.

The minister noted that the most problematic areas in the sector from the investor point of view were the cumbersome procedures involved in the acquisition of land for investment.

“Concern has been raised over the years over the slow pace at which land is availed for tourism development purposes,” he said.

This, Mr Molale, said adversely impacts on the ease of doing business in the countrys.

“This constituted the underlying justification of the establishment of the tourism land bank,” the minister said.

He said the expected outcome of the bank was the maintenance of an adequate, constant supply of suitable tourism land for development.

The minister admitted that there had been delays in moving the responsibility for allocating concessions from land boards to the Department of Land.

“However, to look at the bright side of things, I am pleased to inform you that the drafting of the new lease is complete and it is now ready for signing by prospective bidders,” Mr Molale said.

Furthermore, the minister said other challenges were the country’s ability to facilitate visitor entry and departures. “In this respect, air access is of critical concern as it can negatively affect tourist choice of Botswana over rival destinations,” he observed.

He assured the sector that government was working on improving air connectivity to ensure uninterrupted travel to Botswana.

Another area posing a challenge, the minister said, was the issuance of visa. Unfortunately, he said the problem was not as straight forward as simply doing away with visa restriction for visitors from certain countries. ENDS