28 Nov 2018

Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele has urged young people to tap into a wide range of activities in the tourism industry.

Officiating at the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) youth tourism expo which attracted young people from across the country in Maun recently, Mr Makgalemele noted that the tourism industry entailed a variety of sectors such as cultural, sports and health tourism.

He said the youth could choose sectors they were interested in to improve their livelihoods and market the creative arts. 

In addition, he said the tourism industry had opportunities such as camping and lodging, hotel sector, conservation and wildlife management, mobile safari, tour operator services and air charter.

Mr Makgalemele said there was potential for employment of young people hence his ministry’s commitment to support creation of a conducive environment for the youth to access opportunities.

He also noted that government had put in place affirmative action for youth, citing the 10 per cent in government expenditure reserved for youth and people living with disabilities.

Furthermore, he noted that tourism remained the second largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that its economic impact represented an important aspect that needed to be taken into consideration in the development and planning of the country.

Young people learnt that the tourism sector continued to experience growth and had been placed on top of the agenda by many states as it contributed substantially to their GDPs.

Mr Makgalemele commended BNYC for the initiative, saying it was a great milestone that fitted well within their action plan which called for the facilitation of young people’s involvement in the tourism industry.

The platform, he said, was meant to facilitate interaction between the youth, tourism business operators locally and from the SADC region. He added that information and knowledge could be shared on available education and training opportunities as well as to showcase available tourism professional opportunities and their worth in the country and the global economy.

To young exhibitors who had already found a niche in the tourism industry, Mr Makgalemele urged them to work hard to beat the odds. 

He urged potential tourism entrepreneurs to use the opportunity to learn from those ahead and the business community to improve the industry.

Permanent secretary in the ministry, Mr Kago Ramokate said the expo was relevant as government pursued creation of jobs, noting that the majority of the population was youth and most were unemployed.

He said the tourism sector remained unexploited and yet it had the potential to create job opportunities and address unemployment. 

Ngamiland deputy district commissioner, Mr Ramogaupi Gaborekwe thanked the organisers for hosting the expo in Maun, and encouraged participants to keep learning in order to reach greater heights.

Government, he said, spent a lot of money to empower them and stressed the need to take everything they did seriously.

Some guests from neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Eswatini graced the expo, providing opportunities for the youth to interact, share ideas, experiences and learn from each other.

The expo was held under the theme: Tourism, my way of life, and it was aimed at exploring available opportunities in the tourism industry which the youth could exploit. ENDS