WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT
Role-players in the tourism sector gathered yesterday for the opening of the 15th Namibia Tourism Expo, which annually attracts thousands of visitors.
At the event the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) was officially launched by Prime Minister Hage Geingob. This report indicated that tourism contributed N$3, 8 billion to the GDP last year and created 22 857 jobs.
The chairperson of Democratic Media Holdings, Monica Kalondo, reconfirmed the company's commitment to hosting the expo. What started off as a DMH show has passed on to the broader tourism community, said Kalondo.
She added that the entire Namibia is proud of the expo and that it has not only grown in visitor numbers, but also in the quality of stands. According to her 19 000 visitors last year passed through the expo gates, while 2 000 exhibitors took part.
The minister of environment and tourism, Uahekua Herunga, said the Tourism Expo serves as a platform for the country's tourism industry to promote and market their products and services.
He said internal and external constraints pose a real and urgent concern for the future of tourism.
Exponential tourism growth driven by rapidly developing Asian and Middle Eastern tourist markets, the country's infrastructure constraints and limited manpower resources are all major pressures bearing down on the industry, according to Herunga.
Travellers are also becoming much more discerning and are coming with greater expectations and demands, he said.
Namibia must start exploring the road less travelled towards quality tourism.
Prime Minister Geingob suggested that tourists should be treated as VIPs. He proposed that VIP tourist centres should be opened at airports where arrivals should be treated like royalty. Another suggestion that he made was that SADC countries should package their tourist destinations together instead of competing against each other. We do not have to compete, our countries are all different.
Geingob further said that Namibia should focus more on eco-tourism and cultural activities to promote the country.
The mayor of Windhoek, Agnes Kafula, highlighted the importance of the expo for the capital.
There are a lot of spin-offs that we can derive from the expo, such as the increase in tourist numbers and the attraction of business events to the capital, she said.