Africa-Press – Botswana. Tourist attraction sites are not only confined to the Okavango region, but are scattered across the country, says Vice President Slumber Tsogwane.
Officiating at the 38th Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) meeting in Maun on Friday, Mr Tsogwane, therefore, urged stakeholders to change the narrative that tourism was confined to the Okavango.
He noted that there were many places across the country that appealed to tourists, adding the country was endowed with amazing flora and fauna as well as rich culture and heritage.
Vice President Tsogwane said government wanted to see a more diversified tourism product in collaboration with communities.
He added that a more geographically distributed tourism portfolio would promote job creation and entrepreneurship as well as support employment opportunities in rural areas.
The tourism sector, he said, was well positioned to curb over reliance on minerals in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution and job creation.
Vice President Tsogwane noted that pre-COVID-19, the tourism industry had consistently shown growth, hence being the second largest contributor to the GDP.
He said the 2019 tourism satellite account showed that the tourism industry employed 9.7 per cent of the population, adding that government was committed to providing the requisite legislative frameworks to ensure that the sector thrived.
He said dialogue with stakeholders would provide government with the necessary information on how the private sector could be best facilitated to take advantage of available opportunities.
“It is of utmost importance to systematically and deliberately unpack the value chains of this industry so that more jobs can be created, revenue improved and citizens given meaningful participation. We must take advantage of the continuum and scale of possibilities that are possible in the ancillary activities this sector provides and optimise value for our local and international markets,” he said.
Mr Tsogwane also noted that meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions were a major contributor to travel tourism revenue, adding government was committed to ensuring that such event took place across the country to support overall economic and social advancement.
He acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly affected the country’s tourism industry, however, it was bouncing back and experiencing growth.
He added that should the country face a similar pandemic, he said he would want to see companies such as Google and Microsoft, among others, coming to work from the country’s establishment.
“We should continue to explore strategies for resilience during pandemics,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr Tsogwane emphasised that customer experience remained the cornerstone and success of the tourism industry.
Vice President Tsogwane also urged current and potential investors to strive to provide a conducive working environment so that their relationship with workers could be strengthened for the benefit of all.
He said the utilisation of training institutions to strengthen capacity was highly appreciated.
To develop a forward-looking agenda for the sector, he said government would develop comprehensive long-term plans that would provide consistency and certainty in the industry.
He said the tourism industry needed a framework for sustainable and inclusive growth and that they should mobilise investment when appropriate to stimulate growth and maximise the environmental, economic and social returns generated by tourism.
In his remarks, Batawana paramount chief, Kgosi Tawana II said community living standards were not improving and yet tourism was thriving in their region.
He also urged government to consider giving subsidies to Ngami farmers in terms of pricing so that they could reap better returns like their counterparts in other parts of the country.
He noted that Ngamiland was declared a red zone and that it disadvantaged farmers to benefit from their livestock.
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