Africa-Press – Botswana. In the interest of bolstering investors’ confidence, the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) has appealed to government to expedite the process of renewing lease agreements.
The association’s chairperson, Mr Joe Motse, highlighted that the delays in lease agreement renewals had been a concern for both local and international investors.
These delays, he said had impeded access to financial assistance among other things.
“Please assist us in accelerating the lease renewal process because these delays are adversely impacting our business operations and could potentially deter prospective investors,” said Mr Motse in his introductory remarks at the annual HATAB conference in Maun last recently.
The conference primary objective was to foster dialogue between the public and private sectors, including leadership, to exchange ideas and insights on tourism development and challenges.
Mr Motse also urged government to enhance existing frameworks and support the sector, which he noted was slowly recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are committed to reviving the industry and reinstating tourist numbers to pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019 and our collaborative efforts with partners are yielding positive results,” he said.
Mr Motse said that they had involved all sectors in the tourism including government and private sector, to assist in that regard as their ultimate goal was to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and surpass previous achievements.
He also indicated that diversification of tourism products was critical and acknowledged the recently held Hika la Ngwanyana Cultural Festival that took place in Moshupa as a welcome development to boost and diversify the tourism sector and urged the private sector to take the lead in organising culture based activities in all parts of the country.
Mr Motse also stated that HATAB supported controlled hunting as a means of conservation adding that there was no country that prioritised conservation like Botswana.
“We have done so through applying a mixed approach to tourism as have hunting and photographic concessions and we promote responsible tourism,” said Mr Motse.
In her welcome remarks, Kgosi Kealetile Moremi acknowledged the positive progress seen in the region with regard to the government facilitating Batswana to take part in the industry, noting that they recently witnessed some tenders for concessions allocated to the citizens in prime areas.
She also implored industry players to consider investing in the ecosystem.
Kgosi Moremi said the drying of Thamalakane River, a source of livelihood for the communities, had resulted in uncertainty among many since their lives were tied to the river and its extinction would have severe impacts.
Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu on the other hand, thanked captains of the industry for contributing to the tourism development and economic progress saying their businesses generated jobs with the majority of employees being locals.
Despite the challenges they encountered on daily basis, he encouraged them to remain steadfast in ensuring that the sector continued to thrive and added that the government was committed to support them overcome obstacles that might come their way.
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