17 Sep 2026

Chobe West hospitality operators have positioned their facilities as a frontier for untapped ecotourism experiences to offer a different rhythm from the rest of Chobe. 

With their guest houses and camp sites sitting directly within villages, operators are not only minimising environmental impact but also diversifying their product offering to capture a broader market. 

In an interview, owner of Aacron Hill Guest House, situated in Mabele, Mr Tumedi Tumedi, stated that in order to stand out in the competitive market, he crafted unique experiences that added a new element to the wilderness safari. 

Mr Tumedi stated that he leveraged on the game farming policy piloted by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to offer a distinct low maintenance product. 

He explained that he incorporated an impala viewing area within his guesthouse to cater for guests who preferred more controlled peaceful wildlife experience. 

Moreover, he said they had introduced the Aacron Bekker Hills hiking and cycling challenge, an expedition that took participants through the hills behind the guesthouse, traversing Mabele and extended to Kavimba. 

The initiative, he said, sought to leverage Chobe’s unique landscape which was endowed with hills, rivers and wildlife, which most of the natural resources remained largely untapped for tourism. 

“Mostly when people mention Chobe, they focus only on wildlife tourism leaving the natural resources that stand to diversify the tourism industry,” he added. 

Mr Tumedi stressed that the business pivot intentionally aimed at driving tourist traffic further into the Chobe Enclave from Mabele village until Parakarungu. 

He pointed out that as guesthouse operators in Chobe Enclave, they were constantly in communication to come up with strategies to attract more tourists, adding that they even did referrals for one another to promote growth and synergies. 

He said government, private sector and NGOs had been catalytic in their businesses because they booked guesthouses in Chobe West a lot. 

However, he noted that suspension of government per diem system, which previously provided a reliable source of business for hospitality establishments, had affected their revenue. 

He said he partnered with big safari lodges in Ngoma and Muchenje to bring their guests for enclosed game viewing who usually developed keen interest in understanding the behaviour of wild animals in captivity. ENDS