The 3rd installment of Travel and Tourism Expo (BTTE) will be held in Kasane on the 30th of November until 3rd December 2015. The Expo which offers a unique strategic networking opportunity has this year attracted 126 international exhibitors and 90 local exhibitors as opposed to 90 internationals and 71 locals in the past year (2014). BTTE also gives special insights into the Botswana Tourism Product, where local and international operators can establish new markets and achieve their business objective.
“The growth and demand for BTTE has been a positive sign of good business relations between Botswana and the international markets. This year we have included operators from United States of America, The United Kingdom and Australia. This is to ensure that we increase our global foot print. The plan is to keep assessing the event as we go forward for possible expansion and growth,’ said Brian Dithebe, Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO).
Dithebe added that BTTE will host workshops for the local tourism business with a view to develop the local operators with trending topical tourism issues“This year we are looking at tourism and e-commerce. The workshops will be inclusive of inspirational topics such as social media, the importance of domestic travel and packaging for international markets so that the local industry can be empowered to take advantage of the booming industry and to remain globally competitive.”
BTO has embarked on a sustainable marketing strategy that seeks to increase the market share in the global tourism market in terms of travel and investment. The strategy seeks to increase the market share existing and traditional markets while expanding their footprint to cover new markets.
“Promoting a country requires robust partnerships including among others those with the travel trade. Tour operators are an important part of the network that actualizes destination sales. Botswana has created a very strong network around the world which provides an opportunity to penetrate various markets. International travelers particularly prefer to engage tour operators when planning their holidays. That is why it is important to stage such an event as the Botswana Travel and Tourism Expo,” says Dithebe.
BTO has invited international media houses, Lonely Plane and National Geography to create destination awareness. Furthermore these media houses will help to get information to the markets about Botswana’s experiential tourism. They have also adopted current strategies on social and online media to ensure they increase their reach to various markets around the world.