04 Sep 2024

Botswana is on an overdrive mode to establish itself as a destination of choice for hosting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) as a part of its intentional economic diversification drive, Acting President, His Honour Slumber Tsogwane has said.

Mr Tsogwane was addressing the ongoing 7th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) 2024 in Gaborone yesterday.

The forum has brought together 43 countries and over 500 delegates and speakers from across Africa.

Mr Tsogwane said tourism was a major contributor to the national economy and had tremendous potential to grow.

He added that it was for this reason that the Botswana government had reviewed its Tourism Policy and also developed the National Tourism Strategy and Master Plan to provide relevant frameworks for developing the sector.

Notably, he said, the master plan was an important spatial planning framework for tourism development that defined the country into eight tourism development areas intended to spread tourism activities beyond traditional destinations.

“Our goal is to develop and position Botswana as a tourist destination of choice,” he added. “The tourism policy further emphasises product development and diversification as a key driver of growth within the tourism industry.”

Mr Tsogwane said the policy further spurred promotion of adventure and cultural tourism to attract more arrivals locally, regionally and globally to complement the nation’s traditional wildlife tourism product offerings.

He said Botswana tourism was renowned as the most authentic and exciting wilderness in the world offering unparalleled nature, heritage, and local lifestyle experiences in a safe and easily accessible environment.

Therefore, he said, the tourism industry was being diversified to provide economic growth and employment opportunities for local communities, as well as empower them to participate and benefit meaningfully from the industry.

He said throughout the conference, he hoped to witness a demand-led, private sector-driven approach to tourism growth and employment, urging all as stakeholders and the tourism industry captains, to ensure that the conference delivered catalytic growth that the tourism sector and indeed Africa’s economy needed.

Mr Tsogwane said the forum was the only one of its kind that highlighted tourism as a major economic pillar to diversify African economies.

Botswana signed an agreement for convening the event over a period of three years of 2022, 2023 and 2024 .

Meanwhile, Acting Minister of Environment and Tourism, Honourable Naniki Makwinja, said hosting a convention of this magnitude for three consecutive years was a positive indicator of the successful implementation of major policy goals. Ms Makwinja said the ATLF, therefore, lends impetus to the African tourism sector recovery plan, which included a set of interventions designed to protect and rejuvenate, supply, reignite demand, and strengthen the capabilities necessary to support the sector's recovery.

Through this forum, she said, they aimed to celebrate Botswana's diverse tourism offerings as well as its significant contribution to the country’s economy.

The 7^th African Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards provide a vital platform for the tourism sector to celebrate, engage, reflect and commemorate achievement in relation to 2030 sustainable development goals.

She said this was the third year and event hosted in Botswana and already many benefits have been realised, especially the growth of the tourism industry, citing many of local operators have established or gotten linkages to other markets across Africa and beyond.

Ms Makwinja said the master classes conducted as part of the event were a platform for the upcoming investment phase and developing networks that would prepare businesses to international standards.

She said the forum further created an opportunity to go beyond tourism statistics, adding that  behind every number there was a tourist, a visitor, a business person.

Also, she said, facilitating investments in tourism could deliver more inclusive and sustainable growth in new areas in their communities across Africa.

The is held under the theme: Charting a New Path Forward for Intra-Africa Travel, Tourism & Investment.” Ends