04 Dec 2023

Botswana is well positioned to be a destination of excellence for Meetings, Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) in Africa.

Presenting on the MICE strategy for Botswana at the just ended Botswana Travel and Tourism Expo (BTTE) in Kasane, tourism business intelligence expert from- Mauritius Mr Sen Ramsamy said Botswana was a preferred destination due to the hospitality and warmth of Batswana.

Mr Ramsamy said the success of a destination depended more on how its people treated visitors and not necessarily its geographical location.

 He said Botswana was proud of its stable economy, peace and security, strong democracy and respect for the rule of law.

However, he said, there were plenty of gaps that needed to be tightened to ensure that when the world visited Botswana for conferences and leisure they would be inclined to spend their money in all sectors of the economy.

He said MICE was a tool for socio economic development not just for tourism as it stimulated the demand in Botswana’s products.

He proposed an amendment of regulations to cater for leisure and nightlife entertainment adding that currently tourists only spent money in Botswana during the day because there was lack of avenue to inject cash into the economy at night.

Mr Ramsamy cited Kasane as an example, stating that the town was bustling with tourists for daily activities into Chobe National Park then depart for neighbouring Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe for night life.

“Kasane has the potential to become an events hub due its strategic location, the problem is there are no conference or leisure facilities here, no souvenir shops to buy Botswana products which means tourists go back home with their money.”

He said Botswana being the land of diamonds should have multiple five star hotels in capital city as he suggested that Gaborone be transformed into a smart city, with world class facilities to get people to spend money.

He said Francistown stood a potential to become a business capital and trade exhibition hub due to Gaborone being highly condensed by greater Gaborone developments.

Mr Ramsamy said Maun could become a training centre for tourism not just for Botswana and Africa but the whole world.

“Maun is a cosmopolitan area with many nationalities and there are great products in Maun from arts and crafts, food, craft, beer brewery; all these products needed to be sold to the world.”

However, he said, there were challenges to MICE development because of the heavy bureaucracy and long administrative process that might discourage foreign investors.

He said there was need to professionalize every sector of the economy including SMMEs and taxis to be customer centric.

“The food from street vendors in this country was very good and tasty food,” he said.

“However aesthetics are lacking in terms of packaging and presentation to attract foreigners like we see in countries like China, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Italy, France where street gastronomy is a big element of tourism.” Ends