01 May 2017

The Vice President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi has challenged tour operators in Botswana to ensure that their business approaches are inclusive of the communities they operate within.

He said this at the annual Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference on Friday in Kasane.

Mr Masisi urged HATAB to work with the relevant institutions to develop a robust programme to mobilise members to adopt approaches that catered for various tourism products and activities to ensure that both investors and communities derived benefits to make the sector more inclusive and more rewarding.

He also highlighted that there remained a lot more that the private sector could do in Botswana.

“You can invest in capital intensive projects including infrastructure, engaging in joint ventures to capacitate citizens as well as training of tourism workers, thereby creating additional employment opportunities,” he added.

Mr Masisi also urged investors to look into investing in marginalised geographical areas such as the Southern and Western parts of Botswana, which remained untapped and pristine.

The tourism sector, he highlighted, had expansion potential and was well suited to the national goal of diversifying Botswana’s economy.

“According to the World Travel and Tourism Council 2015 estimates, total contribution of tourism to Botswana’s Gross Domestic Product is in the region of 5.2 per cent with its total contributions to employment being around 2.6 per cent,” he said.

For every 30 tourists attracted, Mr Masisi said, one direct and five indirect jobs were created, which was significant, given government’s aim of creating new jobs, particularly for the youth.

He applauded the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism and Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) for promoting Botswana to the international community, resulting in nominations such as Chobe National Park for the best park destination as well as the latest Tourism for Tomorrow award for Botswana tourism.

“The New York Times ranks Botswana in fifth place among the best run lodges and there is no other African country in the next 20 positions,” he said.

Through this year’s historic International Travel Show Berlin (ITB) partnership with Berlin, Mr Masisi noted that Botswana should realise a 30 per cent increase in inbound tourism in the near future from the global markets.

“This will translate to an additional $200 million injected into Botswana’s economy on an annual basis if it is sustained,” he added.

He emphasised the need to diversify the tourism product and derive benefit to areas such as sport, geo-tourism, eco-tourism, industrial tourism, culinary, fashion, rural, enclave and cultural tourism.

HATAB chairperson, Mr Thapelo Matsheka also emphasised the need for tourism enterprises to integrate with the communities in which they do business.”

Business alone without contributing to welfare and development of the community is futile,” he said.  Currently Okavango District, which houses the iconic 1000th UNESCO world heritage site Okavango Delta, remains one of the hardest hit by poverty in spite of raking in billions through tourism.The theme for this year was The Role of Tourism Sector in Expanding Economic Opportunity in Botswana.”