28 Sep 2020

The Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO), Ms Myra Sekgororoane says there were some changes in issuance of travel permits regarding national independence celebrations.

When briefing the media on September 27, Ms Sekgororoane said inter-zonal permits for domestic tourism travel would only be issued through licensed tourism operators from September 29.  

She urged guests or travellers to familiarise themselves with two forms being: a manifest, which she said was a list of booked and confirmed guests expected over the period, as well as the Individual Permit Application Form, which could be accessed from the ministry and BTO Facebook pages. 

Moreover, Ms Sekgororoane highlighted that travellers could also access the forms from the ministry’s offices and BTO.

She said the forms must be filled and submitted by a tourist licensed operation with a valid tourism licence to the ministry's and BTO offices.

"The form is self-explanatory on official details required. Tourism operators need to note that the permit application form requires other guest information that you may not necessarily obtain at reservation and confirmation stage but rather at check-in such as date of birth, identity number, physical address where they reside and contact details of household members. This information must be included in the application. This is essential for any contact tracing that may be required," she said.

Furthermore, she said, submissions could be emailed or faxed, warning that collection of permits, once approved, may be a challenge depending on volumes and may have to be collected from the office where submission was made.Ms Sekgororoane urged tourism operators and domestic tourists to remain committed to not only supporting, but assisting, the government and the Ministry of Health and Wellness in particular, in these difficult COVID-19 pandemic times.

She also urged the tourism industry and domestic tourists to appreciate the exemption they had been granted, in good faith, and obey all health protocols, and guidelines by the industry in the form of Standard Operation Procedures.

Selected regional offices for collection of forms include Gaborone,  Palapye, Serowe, Selebi Phikwe, Francistown, Letlhakane, Kasane, Maun, Ghanzi, Tsabong, Molepolole. ends