08 Nov 2023

Okavango Is Calling is planning to launch a travel and tourism podcast and radio show in an effort to market tourism in Botswana and outside borders across Africa.

The company is a citizen owned business which promotes Okavango Delta as the 1 000th World Heritage Site listed by UNESCO in 2014. In an interview the founder and chief organizer of the event, Mr Thato Sebati, confirmed the development noting that preparations were ongoing and the launch was billed for December 16, 2023 at Chanoga.

The podcast, he said, would focus on documenting tourism entities such as lodges, hotels and all operators in the tourism industry including polers and creative artists.

The 2020 COVID pandemic period, he said, was difficult on many sectors especially tourism which was strongly affected by health restrictions and the podcast seemed to be a great opportunity to reinforce the appeal of entities and enhance their value to the public.

“I came up with the concept because I have realised that most podcasts focused much on entertainment and nothing about tourism sector and I can confidently say I will be the first to launch this platform dedicated to discuss happenings in the travel and tourism sector” he said.

Mr Sebati said he would first look into premium companies such as Wilderness, Great Plains and Chobe Holdings which were operating hospitality facilities in the prestigious Okavango Delta and outside borders.

Through the concept, he said, he wanted to tap into the digital space and show the world the tourism packages offered by the sector, adding that the podcast would promote 60 safari camps and lodges across Africa.

 He said he appreciated that some companies such as Wilderness had footprints as the company had been operating since 1983 noting that the podcast would also focus on history of the brands.

“Companies and other tourism operators have beautiful stories to tell the world and this is a powerful marketing tool to tap into as it keeps up audience with what is happening in the tourism atmosphere,” he said. “It can attract an audience in several ways.”

Mr Sebati appealed to operators to support the concept saying it was an opportunity for them to promote their businesses, broaden their reach noting that if they could be able to build a community around podcast, it could also be a way to build trust.

The concept, he said, had the potential to inform, inspire or engage its audience as some prefer something they could listen to.

He appealed to potential sponsors to come on board and partner with the company to make the initiative a success. 

He said the exercise was expensive as most of the podcasting would be done into the wilderness as they target to depict beautiful scenery of fauna and flora to the world at large.

Since Maun Senior Secondary School is now offering tourism and hospitality subjects, Mr Sebati said he intended to work hand in hand with some learners to give them exposure. 

Part of the monies raised during the launch, he said would be channeled towards assisting charitable organizations dealing with tourism and conservation issues. ENDS