13 Sep 2023

Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) has injected more than P200 000 to promote tourism in the North West District to boost the sector.

The Chairperson of the North West District Council,  Mr Itumeleng Kelebetseng, said the tourism activities were in line with citizen empowerment and were wholly spearheaded by Batswana citizens.

He said there was still more to come, noting that BTO has also provided financial support to the upcoming ‘Okavango is calling’ and Maun carnival billed for this month.

Okavango is Calling consist of activities aimed at promoting the Okavango Delta while Maun Carnival is a celebration of Botswana culture, song and dance, food, people and their lifestyle.

Mr Kelebetseng urged councillors and other stakeholders to support upcoming events and promote Maun as a tourist destination and boosting the local tourism value chain.

He acknowledged that BTO assisted local operators to exhibit at the Botswana Consumer Fair under its stall.

He said 39 exhibitors, including those from Maun, were able to market and position the district as a premier tourism destination as well as promoting investment and product diversification in the industry.

He said government continued to make efforts to diversify the economy and improve the country’s competitiveness through the cluster development initiative.

He said the tourism sector was one of the first whose clusters were being developed, adding that the Ngamiland region cluster was called Bojanala tourism cluster.

The resuscitation of the cluster programme, he said, had already commenced and that workshops were held with stakeholders in Maun, adding that a proposed budget for the initiative for this financial year was about P1.5 million and that it would be implemented in the first phase of the project.

Improvements were needed in the development of supplier’s survey, specialised marketing workshops, skills development workshops and product development.

Councillors also learned that the district held mini-shows last month in which products were displayed under various categories and that the entrepreneurs won prizes to motivate them.

Mr Kelebetseng added that the district also hosted a cluster show under the theme: Crafting sustainable livelihoods, promoting cultural preservation, and that the show attracted five councils of Chobe, Ghanzi, Okavango, Charleshill and North West District.

The objective of the show, he said, was to promote and market small businesses and to share ideas and best practices. 

“Government recognises the informal sector as one of the crucial sectors that provide self-employment thereby reducing unemployment, eradicating poverty and boosting the economy,” he said.

Mr Kelebetseng also said the council was determined to make it safe for entrepreneurs to operate and that they have embarked on an operation to remove cooking gas cylinders from public areas. Ends