19 Aug 2013

Botswana Tourism Organisation CEO, Ms Myra Sekgororoane has said Botswana needs to look beyond the wild animals if it was to remain competitive in global market and shift focus to promoting cultural heritage.

Speaking during Batlokwa Culture Day Gala Dinner on August 16 at Oasis Motel, Ms Sekgororoane said culture was an important aspect of development of tourism sector. “As tourism organisation, we appreciate the need for different ethnic groups to celebrate their cultural identity and to market it to global market while taking cognisant of paramount need for Batswana to forge a common identity and be united as a nation,” she said.

She stated that there was need to sell the rich and powerful story of the cultural heritage which is often overlooked. “When we live in a place, we tend to take things for granted, but there is need to get people outside to know our cultural heritage,” she said.

Highlighting on the opportunities that Batlokwa could tap into through their trust- Batlokwa Development Trust, she said the scope of tourism in Tlokweng was wide citing development of a game reserve on the piece of land parallel and adjacent to Gaborone Game Reserve which could serve as a trail to various other heritage sides.

Ms Sekgororoane pledged her organisation’s support for events of this nature in every community across the nation which she said would help bolster tourism sector and greatly assist Botswana’s economic diversification efforts.

She assured Batlokwa that Botswana Tourism Organisation would include Batlokwa Cultural Day in its tourism calendar of events that would be promoted locally, regionally and internationally.

Challenging everyone in attendance to act in order to promote tourism, she said everything start small and gradually build up, giving example of Daka’r Rally which she said started small and now it is big.

“As we nature and develop these events, whatever we do should be towards self-sustenance, let’s strive to have a major event every single month of the year,” she said. Batlokwa Culture Day which was celebrated under the theme: Ngwao Sefalana.

The annual event was initiated in 2008 by Batlokwa paramount chief also chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Puso Gaborone and seek to showcase and celebrate Batlokwa cultural heritage through, music, dance, poetry. Ends