25 Apr 2023

 Building distinctive brands will help position Botswana as an attractive destination to visit and invest, says the founder of Brand Africa, Mr Thebe Ikalafeng.

Speaking during Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference in Maun recently, Mr Ikalafeng said Botswana was one of the best tourism destinations in Africa but it was not in the top visited countries. He implored tourism operators to come up with strong brands that would make the country globally competitive.

Africa, he said, was a continent with a wealth of places worth visiting. He advised tourism operators to tell their stories through their brands to attract travellers and investors. Every destination, he said needed strong branding citing that culture, tourism, and people were some of the key drivers of branding.

Mr Ikalafeng further noted that cultural heritage could sell Botswana and promote tourism sector growth, adding that branding should stimulate stronger communities, culture and heritage and most importantly instill a sense of pride and community engagement in the country. 

Branding, he said, could also help build trust with customers hence a brand tagline should provide a country with common sense of identity, purpose and national pride.

“People should have a reason to visit your country and if they trust your brand, they will look at it first. As such the destination brand should be a reflection of the country’s culture and its people, heritage, traditional and modern ways of living,” he added.

Mr Ikalafeng said effective branding could also help the country’s product and services stand out against competitors and urged tourism players to own strong brands that would create a unique impression in the minds of the consumers as well as change the lives of the people.

These days, he said travellers chose products and services using emotions as well as rational judgment hence they should use brands to create a real point of difference.

He emphasised the need to support their own brands before they could look outside, adding that their businesses lied with local consumers. Mr Ikalafeng also said branding was the foundation of marketing strategy and the companies’ most important marketing tool.

Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Philda Kereng appreciated the conference and called on stakeholders to collaborate in an effort to enable the sector to thrive and create more jobs. She appreciated that the industry was bouncing back and thanked tourism players for soldiering on during difficult times.

The government, she said was building a strategic framework that would enhance the resilience, sustainability and growth of the industry so that it could cushion itself from any other climate shocks.

She said government regarded the sector as critical in driving economic diversification and improving the quality of lives for Batswana. Ms Kereng implored the industry players to support the ministry to achieve a transformative path which aimed to change the industry’s landscape. ENDS