15 Apr 2026

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on April 13 launched the Tourism Statistics Dashboard.

The Tourism Statistics Dashboard will allow tracking of visitor trends, measure sectoral performance, and identify opportunities for growth. 

It will strengthen Botswana tourism statistical system, enabling government to measure tourism’s true contribution to the economy. By integrating tourism data into national accounts, government can better understand its impact on the Gross Domestic Product, employment, investment, and community development.

Launching the project, Minister of Environment and Tourism Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, said for tourism to thrive in a competitive global environment, decisions must be guided by accurate, timely, and accessible data. 

Therefore, he said the dashboard was a response to that need, since it was a bridge between evidence and action, as well as between aspiration and achievement.

“The launch of the dashboard is timely as government prepares for the implementation of National Development Plan 12 (NDP12). NDP12 calls for stronger systems of monitoring and evaluation, and for evidence-based strategies that ensure every sector contributes meaningfully to national priorities. 

By embedding tourism statistics into our planning framework, we are ensuring that tourism is not only celebrated for its beauty and experiences, but also accounted for in the hard numbers that drive national policy,” said Mr Mmolotsi.

The Statistics Dashboard also aligns with the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP), which places emphasis on diversifying the economy, creating jobs, and building resilience. 

Mr Mmolotsi said with its wide linkages to transport, agriculture, culture, and services, it was a natural engine for transformation. 

He added that the dashboard would help government identify where tourism could accelerate diversification, stimulate innovation, and deliver inclusive growth.

Furthermore, Mr Mmolotsi said the data would ensure that Botswana tourism policies were inclusive, strategies sustainable and actions were impactful. 

He said with the dashboard, Botswana was best equipped to be positioned as a destination of choice, a country where nature, culture and innovation meet.

Government has set ambitious goals to increase international visitor arrivals and annual tourism revenue significantly. 

To achieve these targets, Ambassador of Japan to Botswana Mr Shindo Yusuke, said it required addressing challenges such as limited product diversification and the need for stronger data to support decision-making. 

He said the launch of the Statistics Dashboard which was designed to transform raw data into evidence-based planning, would strengthen tourism development and statistical capacity.

“By visualising key performance indicators such as visitor arrivals, average length of stay, and tourism expenditure, this system will provide the clarity needed to understand market trends and seasonal fluctuations. 

It is not just a technical achievement; it is a collaborative triumph that ensures both technical quality and strong government ownership,” said Mr Yusuke.

He said the initiative would be guided by establishing data-driven tourism governance, strengthening regional competitiveness by positioning Botswana as a highly competitive destination within the region, as well as sustainability and ownership which was the ultimate success of the project.

For his part, JICA Botswana representative, Mr Hiroyasu Tonokawa, said in realising this project, JICA focused on three key areas of development of effective tourism product, product development methods including community-based tourism, the strengthening of capacity in tourism statistics and ICT as well as the promotion of information exchange and knowledge sharing with neighbouring countries in the fields of tourism product development and tourism statistics. He said among these three, JICA placed particular importance of the improvement and utilisation of tourism statistics.

Mr Tonokawa said although the project was still at early stages, continuous efforts would be required to improve data collection and integration, enhance data quality and timeliness and upgrade the system so that it becomes user friendly and responsive to users’ needs. 

“It is essential to expand awareness and usage of the dashboard. 

More policy makers, private sector operators, researchers, and other stakeholders need to know that this tool exists and understand how to use it and actively incorporate its insights into their work,” he said.

He said JICA remained committed to supporting the ministry in these continuous efforts so that the dashboard could grow into a widely used and trusted platform. ENDS