The country has since realized growth in inbound travel in terms of numbers from the previously unexploited markets from the African region and the rest of the world.
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
In their continued efforts to attract key players in Botswana’s tourism sector local operators, Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO) and HATAB participated at the just ended World Travel Market (WTM) Africa hosted in Cape Town from the 10th to 12th April. It was revealed at this leading global event for the travel industry that leisure and business tourism, cultural exchange tourism, eco- tourism, sports and adventure tourism, take the center stage when it comes to the latest world traveling trends.
“While the travel industry continues to experience major changes in the way which travel is marketed and how the traveler is served, Botswana is better placed to respond and offer to the traveler’s needs since we have a foundation on some of the listed trends,” said Acting PR and Communications Manager of BTO, Samuel Lephalo.
Lephalo went on to say the listed trends have and continue to contribute significantly to the economy of Botswana, and there is a substantial growth in the country’s business tourism. Tourism tends to be very trendy with changes experienced from time to time in terms of how products are packaged. He says they have realized that these changes do not reduce the appetite for Botswana’s products as they offer premier products and the industry focused on adaptive strategies that do not impact negatively on products brand positioning.
“Certain markets that used to travel in groups due to language and culture difference for example now prefer individual, adventurous travel for authenticity in their product barriers,” he highlighted.
Beyond the event, WTM continues to help professionals in the African travel industry to drive commercial success with all year round access to make connections, industry news and developments, trends and technologies from around the world. BTO has been a part of this travel show since its launch in 2014, as a platform for the local travel industry to conduct business to business exhibitions for inbound and outbound Africa travel and tourism markets. This year, 19 operators from Botswana were hosted at the event.
“BTO and the tourism industry have been able to generate leads, particularly with interest to participate in leading events such as the Botswana Travel & Tourism Expo (BTTE). We have since realized growth in inbound travel in terms of numbers from the previously unexploited markets from the African region and the rest of the world. There is continuous growth in the travel network for the industry,” the BTO spokesperson remarked.
Lephalo added that Botswana Tourism scooped the Best Stand for doing Business at the WTM Africa event.