Namibia hopes to have a diversified and competitive tourism sector which attracts 1,8 million tourists by 2022, according to the recently released fifth National Development Plan (NDP5).
According to the NDP5 document, Namibia remains heavily dependent on its top ten tourist destinations, hence the need exists to expand the number of tourist markets serving the country to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
Although Namibia has good infrastructure in most parts of the country, a lack of infrastructure in some tourist areas continues to hamper the growth of the sector, states the document.
Namibia is a remarkable and competitive destination because of its comparative advantages, which include the wide open spaces with spectacular landscapes, abundant wildlife resources, a diversity of experiences, excellent infrastructure, security, peace and stability, and a low population density, it states.
Namibia has a growing global reputation as a premier destination for ecotourism. The tourism industry is an important contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investments, revenue, employment, rural development, poverty reduction and to the growth of the country's economy.
Tourism also creates strong direct and peripheral benefits because of its multiplier effect, based on its reliance on a wide spread of supplies and services, states the document.
While most sectors have experienced a decline in employment in 2016, the hospitality accommodation and food services sector experienced a growth in employment between 2014 and 2016, according to the latest Namibia Labour Force Survey (NLFS) 2016 of the Namibia Statistics Agency.
The NLFS found that the number of people employed in the sector rose from 29 265 in 2014 to 47 840 in 2016, an increase of 18 575 jobs over the two-year period.
The NDP5 document further stated that hotels and restaurants increased by an average of 6,6% per annum during the NDP4 period, and contribute about 1,8% to GDP.
Retention and expansion to new markets, promoting local tourism, ensuring conservation as a key policy priority, and promoting communal conservancies and cultural tourism have been highlighted as some of the strategies to be employed to attract more tourists.
The country will also promote ecotourism in order to ensure that the environment and Namibia's uniqueness are protected, according to the document.
Continued investment in infrastructure could help to promote profitability and support the investment climate. In accordance with the National Tourism Investment and Promotion Strategy 2016-2026, it could help to promote PPP to attract foreign investment, as well as invest in roads linking tourist destinations and infrastructure with communal conservancies.
This will increase the number of tourists and foreign earnings, states the document.
Similarly, efforts will also be made to develop new tourism products by promoting Namibia as a meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition' (MICE) destination through the establishment of conferencing facilities, while the strategy also aims at incorporating cultural and creative sectors into tourism.
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label Namibia Tourism Board. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Namibia Tourism Board. Show all posts
Friday, 9 June 2017
Monday, 5 June 2017
NAMIBIA: Federation of Namibian Tourism Association (Fenata) Says Domestic Tourism Is Not Happening
The Federation of Namibian Tourism Association (Fenata) chairperson Bernd Schneider is of the view domestic tourism has to some extent been neglected.
There is a growing concern that Namibians generally do not have a culture of taking vacations, as many prefer to go to their villages.
Domestic tourism has for many years been neglected, he said, adding that one of the things Namibia didn’t really do right over a couple of years was to promote a dual price system, whereby lodges offer different prices to locals and than to international visitors.
He said Namibian lodges and hotels were supposed to be affordable to locals, but are currently not affordable to many.
In this regard Schneider called on the local tourism industry to establish and develop infrastructure that fits into that cost profile.
Although the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) continues to actively promote various domestic campaigns aimed at creating awareness, which has led to an increase in domestic travel, he called for more concerted effort to ensure locals enjoy the great beauty Namibia has to offer.
He also applauded the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) that offer the NamLeisure card (family membership), in addition to standing discounts for locals, which stand at 25 percent and 35 percent for pensioners.
He said many Namibians have been travelling to national parks and campsites since NWR introduced the 75 percent discount for the past three years.
They travel to campsites where they take their braai along.
They don’t need the fancy, luxury and upmarket lodges that often cater for international needs.
According to Schneider, many Namibians have turned to what is called camp elephants, which cost them very little.
These are self-catering bungalows where people go with their own food and drinks over weekends to enjoy themselves.
NWR during February ran a promotion aimed at encouraging domestic travelers to sign up for a Namleisure card at 50 percent of the cost.
The aim was to encourage domestic travelers to acquire a Namleisure card, which entitles them to 50 percent discount whenever they visit any NWR facility including Sun Karros Daan Viljoen.
The Namleisure card comes in three variations to cater to different travelers. There is the Single’s card, which is aimed at individuals, while Namleisure Plus is aimed at couples and seems to be the most popular option.
Wheras the Namleisure Family card is aimed at two adults and two children between the ages of 13 and 17 years old. At present NWR has over 4,000 Namleisure members.
According to the National Sustainable Tourism Growth and Development Strategy 2016-2026, there is no culture of taking vacations among Namibians to the extent that many do not take leisure holidays at all.
In their vacation time they go ‘up north’ to their villages. There is a need to raise awareness of the preferences of international visitors, since the culture does not exist locally, the report shows.
There is a growing concern that Namibians generally do not have a culture of taking vacations, as many prefer to go to their villages.
Domestic tourism has for many years been neglected, he said, adding that one of the things Namibia didn’t really do right over a couple of years was to promote a dual price system, whereby lodges offer different prices to locals and than to international visitors.
He said Namibian lodges and hotels were supposed to be affordable to locals, but are currently not affordable to many.
In this regard Schneider called on the local tourism industry to establish and develop infrastructure that fits into that cost profile.
Although the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) continues to actively promote various domestic campaigns aimed at creating awareness, which has led to an increase in domestic travel, he called for more concerted effort to ensure locals enjoy the great beauty Namibia has to offer.
He also applauded the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) that offer the NamLeisure card (family membership), in addition to standing discounts for locals, which stand at 25 percent and 35 percent for pensioners.
He said many Namibians have been travelling to national parks and campsites since NWR introduced the 75 percent discount for the past three years.
They travel to campsites where they take their braai along.
They don’t need the fancy, luxury and upmarket lodges that often cater for international needs.
According to Schneider, many Namibians have turned to what is called camp elephants, which cost them very little.
These are self-catering bungalows where people go with their own food and drinks over weekends to enjoy themselves.
NWR during February ran a promotion aimed at encouraging domestic travelers to sign up for a Namleisure card at 50 percent of the cost.
The aim was to encourage domestic travelers to acquire a Namleisure card, which entitles them to 50 percent discount whenever they visit any NWR facility including Sun Karros Daan Viljoen.
The Namleisure card comes in three variations to cater to different travelers. There is the Single’s card, which is aimed at individuals, while Namleisure Plus is aimed at couples and seems to be the most popular option.
Wheras the Namleisure Family card is aimed at two adults and two children between the ages of 13 and 17 years old. At present NWR has over 4,000 Namleisure members.
According to the National Sustainable Tourism Growth and Development Strategy 2016-2026, there is no culture of taking vacations among Namibians to the extent that many do not take leisure holidays at all.
In their vacation time they go ‘up north’ to their villages. There is a need to raise awareness of the preferences of international visitors, since the culture does not exist locally, the report shows.
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
NAMIBIA: Tourism Not Affected By Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa
The Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta says the recent xenophobic attacks in neighbouring South Africa have not negatively affected Namibia.
In an interview with New Era on the sidelines of the inauguration of five Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) members on Thursday, Shifeta said such factors in the region can negatively affect other nations, but so far have not impacted the local tourism sector.
The NTB is now chaired by Paul Brinkmann who together with Silas Shakumu, Madelein /Goagoses, Terance Makari and Marie Friede are the new board members.
Recently many South African nationals have reportedly taken the law into their own hands against Nigerians and some other foreign nationals for allegedly committing crimes in the community. Some shops belonging to immigrants were looted in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital.
“So far what happened in South Africa did not affect Namibia. Namibia has a very good reputation internationally and tourists, wherever they are, always talk about Namibia,” Shifeta said.
Shifeta announced his plan to achieve two million tourist arrivals to the country within the next three years. Namibia recorded 1.51 million foreign arrivals for 2015, a 3 percent increase from 2014 when the figure was 1.4 million.
Of the total foreign arrivals recorded, 1.38 million were tourists while 15 580 were returning residents and 99 883 same-day visitors.
Asked on how Namibia plans to achieve such a huge target, Shifeta responded: “We will achieve the two million within three years in the absence of any factors that may intervene. As it is now, at the rate of growth we are moving, the possibility of achieving the two million is there, no doubt about that,” he said.
According to him, there is a need to cover more tourist markets such as Asia and some parts of Western Europe that “are not coming on board”. He however said a good number of tourists come from eastern and central Europe.
He noted that through aggressive marketing the northern African and American markets are responding better.
Shifeta said there is a need to upgrade Namibia’s aviation industry in terms of facilities due to the increasing number of airlines that introduced their flights in Namibia.
Three new airlines were recently introduced in the country – Ethiopian, Qatar and KLM airlines.
Sometimes tourists want to come but the facilities are not really good. Sometimes the three airlines all come and there is no capacity to handle that number. You find a queue and sometimes the tourists endure the heat and rain. We don’t want that to happen, he stressed.
He said he visited Hosea Kutako International Airport last week, accompanied by the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Sebastian Ndeitunga, to assess the facilities for security reasons for tourist arrivals and saw there was a need to increase capacity of personnel and enhance infrastructure development once funds are available.
We identified some things that really need to be tackled as soon as possible, especially personnel. We are supposed to double personnel, especially now with more airlines arriving. That’s on the side of the police, customs and immigration, he noted.
Even though the country is faced with financial constraints any loopholes should be fixed, he said.
According to him, there are times when 10 police officers are needed on duty but there is no space.
He argued that with the increased number of airlines, there is a need to have more police officers deployed at the airport.
Namibia’s tourism sector will grow vigorously and would employ 64 160 people by 2022, according to predictions contained in the drafted Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5).
The recently released draft indicates that a proxy for the tourism sector grew by an average of eight percent during the NDP4 period, contributing about 1.7 percent to GDP.
The tourism industry is an important contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investment, revenue, employment, rural development, poverty reduction and growth of the country’s economy.
Tourism also creates strong direct and peripheral benefits because of its multiplier effect, based on its reliance on widespread supplies and services.
The report says this would be achieved through the promotion of economic empowerment that will include policy design and implementation to support emerging entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.
Promotion of enforcement and self-enforcement to and by operators with regard to the standards quality of facilities and services to meet international best practices, the report says.
The report further indicated that the marketing and promotion efforts in Europe and southern Africa would remain a core part of tourism efforts in Namibia.
The activities will include awareness among the domestic population of the power of tourism, ensure conservation as a key policy priority for tourism in Namibia and promote communal conservancies and cultural tourism, it says.
Awareness will further promote ecotourism to ensure that Namibia protects its environment and uniqueness.
In accordance with the National Tourism Investment Profile and Promotion Strategy 2016-2026, the government will promote public-private-partnerships to attract foreign investment, invest in roads linking tourist destinations and infrastructure with communal conservancies.
However, the tourism sector is also faced with challenges of seasonality, which means that incomes do not flow throughout the year.
The report further indicated that international, regional and national incidents could have serious impacts on tourism, such as potential security threats.
In addition, the land tenure system in communal areas hampers development growth and investment in the tourism sector.
The Federation of Namibian Tourism Association (Fenata) chairperson Bernd Schneider is of the view domestic tourism has to some extent been neglected. There is a growing concern that Namibians generally do not have a culture of taking vacations, as many prefer to go to their villages.
“Domestic tourism has for many years been neglected,” he said, adding that one of the things Namibia didn’t really do right over a couple of years was to promote a dual price system, whereby lodges offer different prices to locals and than to international visitors.
He said Namibian lodges and hotels were supposed to be affordable to locals, but are currently not affordable to many. In this regard Schneider called on the local tourism industry to establish and develop infrastructure that fits into that cost profile.
Although the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) continues to actively promote various domestic campaigns aimed at creating awareness, which has led to an increase in domestic travel, he called for more concerted effort to ensure locals enjoy the great beauty Namibia has to offer.
He also applauded the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) that offer the NamLeisure card (family membership), in addition to standing discounts for locals, which stand at 25 percent and 35 percent for pensioners.
He said many Namibians have been travelling to national parks and campsites since NWR introduced the 75 percent discount for the past three years. “They travel to campsites where they take their braai along. They don’t need the fancy, luxury and upmarket lodges that often cater for international needs.
According to Schneider, many Namibians have turned to what is called camp elephants, which cost them very little. These are self-catering bungalows where people go with their own food and drinks over weekends to enjoy themselves.
NWR during February ran a promotion aimed at encouraging domestic travelers to sign up for a Namleisure card at 50 percent of the cost. The aim was to encourage domestic travelers to acquire a Namleisure card, which entitles them to 50 percent discount whenever they visit any NWR facility including Sun Karros Daan Viljoen.
The Namleisure card comes in three variations to cater to different travelers. There is the Single’s card, which is aimed at individuals, while Namleisure Plus is aimed at couples and seems to be the most popular option, while the Namleisure Family card is aimed at two adults and two children between the ages of 13 and 17 years old.
At present NWR has over 4,000 Namleisure members.
According to the National Sustainable Tourism Growth and Development Strategy 2016-2026, there is no culture of taking vacations among Namibians to the extent that many do not take leisure holidays at all.
In their vacation time they go ‘up north’ to their villages. There is a need to raise awareness of the preferences of international visitors, since the culture does not exist locally, the report shows.
In an interview with New Era on the sidelines of the inauguration of five Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) members on Thursday, Shifeta said such factors in the region can negatively affect other nations, but so far have not impacted the local tourism sector.
The NTB is now chaired by Paul Brinkmann who together with Silas Shakumu, Madelein /Goagoses, Terance Makari and Marie Friede are the new board members.
Recently many South African nationals have reportedly taken the law into their own hands against Nigerians and some other foreign nationals for allegedly committing crimes in the community. Some shops belonging to immigrants were looted in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital.
“So far what happened in South Africa did not affect Namibia. Namibia has a very good reputation internationally and tourists, wherever they are, always talk about Namibia,” Shifeta said.
Shifeta announced his plan to achieve two million tourist arrivals to the country within the next three years. Namibia recorded 1.51 million foreign arrivals for 2015, a 3 percent increase from 2014 when the figure was 1.4 million.
Of the total foreign arrivals recorded, 1.38 million were tourists while 15 580 were returning residents and 99 883 same-day visitors.
Asked on how Namibia plans to achieve such a huge target, Shifeta responded: “We will achieve the two million within three years in the absence of any factors that may intervene. As it is now, at the rate of growth we are moving, the possibility of achieving the two million is there, no doubt about that,” he said.
According to him, there is a need to cover more tourist markets such as Asia and some parts of Western Europe that “are not coming on board”. He however said a good number of tourists come from eastern and central Europe.
He noted that through aggressive marketing the northern African and American markets are responding better.
Shifeta said there is a need to upgrade Namibia’s aviation industry in terms of facilities due to the increasing number of airlines that introduced their flights in Namibia.
Three new airlines were recently introduced in the country – Ethiopian, Qatar and KLM airlines.
Sometimes tourists want to come but the facilities are not really good. Sometimes the three airlines all come and there is no capacity to handle that number. You find a queue and sometimes the tourists endure the heat and rain. We don’t want that to happen, he stressed.
He said he visited Hosea Kutako International Airport last week, accompanied by the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Sebastian Ndeitunga, to assess the facilities for security reasons for tourist arrivals and saw there was a need to increase capacity of personnel and enhance infrastructure development once funds are available.
We identified some things that really need to be tackled as soon as possible, especially personnel. We are supposed to double personnel, especially now with more airlines arriving. That’s on the side of the police, customs and immigration, he noted.
Even though the country is faced with financial constraints any loopholes should be fixed, he said.
According to him, there are times when 10 police officers are needed on duty but there is no space.
He argued that with the increased number of airlines, there is a need to have more police officers deployed at the airport.
Namibia’s tourism sector will grow vigorously and would employ 64 160 people by 2022, according to predictions contained in the drafted Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5).
The recently released draft indicates that a proxy for the tourism sector grew by an average of eight percent during the NDP4 period, contributing about 1.7 percent to GDP.
The tourism industry is an important contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investment, revenue, employment, rural development, poverty reduction and growth of the country’s economy.
Tourism also creates strong direct and peripheral benefits because of its multiplier effect, based on its reliance on widespread supplies and services.
The report says this would be achieved through the promotion of economic empowerment that will include policy design and implementation to support emerging entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.
Promotion of enforcement and self-enforcement to and by operators with regard to the standards quality of facilities and services to meet international best practices, the report says.
The report further indicated that the marketing and promotion efforts in Europe and southern Africa would remain a core part of tourism efforts in Namibia.
The activities will include awareness among the domestic population of the power of tourism, ensure conservation as a key policy priority for tourism in Namibia and promote communal conservancies and cultural tourism, it says.
Awareness will further promote ecotourism to ensure that Namibia protects its environment and uniqueness.
In accordance with the National Tourism Investment Profile and Promotion Strategy 2016-2026, the government will promote public-private-partnerships to attract foreign investment, invest in roads linking tourist destinations and infrastructure with communal conservancies.
However, the tourism sector is also faced with challenges of seasonality, which means that incomes do not flow throughout the year.
The report further indicated that international, regional and national incidents could have serious impacts on tourism, such as potential security threats.
In addition, the land tenure system in communal areas hampers development growth and investment in the tourism sector.
The Federation of Namibian Tourism Association (Fenata) chairperson Bernd Schneider is of the view domestic tourism has to some extent been neglected. There is a growing concern that Namibians generally do not have a culture of taking vacations, as many prefer to go to their villages.
“Domestic tourism has for many years been neglected,” he said, adding that one of the things Namibia didn’t really do right over a couple of years was to promote a dual price system, whereby lodges offer different prices to locals and than to international visitors.
He said Namibian lodges and hotels were supposed to be affordable to locals, but are currently not affordable to many. In this regard Schneider called on the local tourism industry to establish and develop infrastructure that fits into that cost profile.
Although the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) continues to actively promote various domestic campaigns aimed at creating awareness, which has led to an increase in domestic travel, he called for more concerted effort to ensure locals enjoy the great beauty Namibia has to offer.
He also applauded the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) that offer the NamLeisure card (family membership), in addition to standing discounts for locals, which stand at 25 percent and 35 percent for pensioners.
He said many Namibians have been travelling to national parks and campsites since NWR introduced the 75 percent discount for the past three years. “They travel to campsites where they take their braai along. They don’t need the fancy, luxury and upmarket lodges that often cater for international needs.
According to Schneider, many Namibians have turned to what is called camp elephants, which cost them very little. These are self-catering bungalows where people go with their own food and drinks over weekends to enjoy themselves.
NWR during February ran a promotion aimed at encouraging domestic travelers to sign up for a Namleisure card at 50 percent of the cost. The aim was to encourage domestic travelers to acquire a Namleisure card, which entitles them to 50 percent discount whenever they visit any NWR facility including Sun Karros Daan Viljoen.
The Namleisure card comes in three variations to cater to different travelers. There is the Single’s card, which is aimed at individuals, while Namleisure Plus is aimed at couples and seems to be the most popular option, while the Namleisure Family card is aimed at two adults and two children between the ages of 13 and 17 years old.
At present NWR has over 4,000 Namleisure members.
According to the National Sustainable Tourism Growth and Development Strategy 2016-2026, there is no culture of taking vacations among Namibians to the extent that many do not take leisure holidays at all.
In their vacation time they go ‘up north’ to their villages. There is a need to raise awareness of the preferences of international visitors, since the culture does not exist locally, the report shows.
NAMIBIA: Namibia Tourism Board Pays Unregistered Company Belonging To Board Director
THE Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) paid more than N$680 000 to a company owned by board director Paul Brinkmann, even though the firm was not registered as required by law.
Brinkmann is the managing director of Wild Africa Travel, a company under the Tourvest Holdings Group, which also owns Sense Of Africa, where he is also the chief operations executive.
Brinkmann has been an NTB board member since 2014, and was promoted to board chairperson on Thursday by environment minister Pohamba Shifeta.
The NTB is a state-owned travel and hospitality governing body that regulates and promotes tourism in Namibia. Brinkmann's Wild Africa Travel acts as a fixer for tourists to book accommodation, vehicles and guided tours in Namibia.
Wild Africa Travel received contracts from the NTB without public tender worth N$680 000 between June and December last year, despite not being registered in line with the Namibia Tourism Board Act, which states that a tourism company should first register with the board.
Wild Africa was only registered by the NTB on 23 January 2017, but the tourism parastatal paid it to “facilitate” the arrival and activities of tourist agents from countries like Germany in 2016.
The NTB paid the N$680 000 as part of its campaign to subsidise the expenses of foreign agents, hoping they would promote Namibia as a tourist destination when they return to their countries.
Brinkmann confirmed that his company was paid more than N$680 000 by the NTB, and admitted that the company was not registered when it received contracts.
I could try and make an explanation. However, the simple truth remains that Wild Africa Travel was registered late, and as the managing director of the company, I must accept responsibility for that, he said.
He said the NTB paid Wild Africa Travel N$30 700 on 7 June 2016, N$40 000 on 21 June 2016, N$272 000 on 18 November and N$340 000 on 15 December.
Brinkmann claimed that Wild Africa Travel's late registration was not intentional because they thought it was registered since their other company, Sense of Africa, was certified by the NTB.
It was only when we tried to attend a trade fair as Wild Africa Travel that we noted that we did not have an NTB registration number. As the most senior manager, I must take responsibility for my company's actions, he added.
The NTB Act states that a person who violates the law on the need to register commits an offence, and is liable to a maximum fine of N$20 000 or two years in prison, or both.
Brinkmann insisted that the punishments are not in the law.
The sanction when someone has not been registered is not yet provided for in the act – which is something the new board must look at, he added.
Brinkmann said he regreted the error.
We truly regret that we were late with our application and registration. However, I erroneously believed that both companies had been registered, he stated.
Brinkmann's role as NTB board chair and businessman makes him both a referee and player in the sector he regulates, something that has placed him in a possible conflict of interest scenario.
He said he raised the issue of conflict of interest at his first NTB board meeting, and that he represents the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations there, and not his companies.
I have never participated in any decision or consideration that may or may not have an impact on my company. I have attempted at all times to be honest and show integrity, he added.
There are claims that the tourism industry is dominated by businesses owned by the previously advantaged who control the market from car hire, accommodation, bookings and tours.
I am a Namibian, and if I recall my younger years, when we went anywhere and it was a bit seldom as money was an issue, we were served on every level by whites, he said.
He said this has changed, and people from all walks of life are involved.
The payments were signed off by NTB chief executive Digu Naobeb and Maureen Posthuma, who earlier headed the NTB's offices in Germany, but moved to Windhoek as the marketing manager.
Naobeb threatened NTB officials who are suspected of leaking information about the questionable payments.
Do not be an agent of distraction, he said in an email to workers.
Naobeb said that they realised and only picked it up later that Brinkmann's company was not registered.
It would seem there was some slackness and slippage in our internal controls, which is worrisome and regrettable, he said, adding that this should have been picked up by management before making payments.
The CEO said the NTB will create a database of companies from whom they source goods and services in Namibia.
Brinkmann is the managing director of Wild Africa Travel, a company under the Tourvest Holdings Group, which also owns Sense Of Africa, where he is also the chief operations executive.
Brinkmann has been an NTB board member since 2014, and was promoted to board chairperson on Thursday by environment minister Pohamba Shifeta.
The NTB is a state-owned travel and hospitality governing body that regulates and promotes tourism in Namibia. Brinkmann's Wild Africa Travel acts as a fixer for tourists to book accommodation, vehicles and guided tours in Namibia.
Wild Africa Travel received contracts from the NTB without public tender worth N$680 000 between June and December last year, despite not being registered in line with the Namibia Tourism Board Act, which states that a tourism company should first register with the board.
Wild Africa was only registered by the NTB on 23 January 2017, but the tourism parastatal paid it to “facilitate” the arrival and activities of tourist agents from countries like Germany in 2016.
The NTB paid the N$680 000 as part of its campaign to subsidise the expenses of foreign agents, hoping they would promote Namibia as a tourist destination when they return to their countries.
Brinkmann confirmed that his company was paid more than N$680 000 by the NTB, and admitted that the company was not registered when it received contracts.
I could try and make an explanation. However, the simple truth remains that Wild Africa Travel was registered late, and as the managing director of the company, I must accept responsibility for that, he said.
He said the NTB paid Wild Africa Travel N$30 700 on 7 June 2016, N$40 000 on 21 June 2016, N$272 000 on 18 November and N$340 000 on 15 December.
Brinkmann claimed that Wild Africa Travel's late registration was not intentional because they thought it was registered since their other company, Sense of Africa, was certified by the NTB.
It was only when we tried to attend a trade fair as Wild Africa Travel that we noted that we did not have an NTB registration number. As the most senior manager, I must take responsibility for my company's actions, he added.
The NTB Act states that a person who violates the law on the need to register commits an offence, and is liable to a maximum fine of N$20 000 or two years in prison, or both.
Brinkmann insisted that the punishments are not in the law.
The sanction when someone has not been registered is not yet provided for in the act – which is something the new board must look at, he added.
Brinkmann said he regreted the error.
We truly regret that we were late with our application and registration. However, I erroneously believed that both companies had been registered, he stated.
Brinkmann's role as NTB board chair and businessman makes him both a referee and player in the sector he regulates, something that has placed him in a possible conflict of interest scenario.
He said he raised the issue of conflict of interest at his first NTB board meeting, and that he represents the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations there, and not his companies.
I have never participated in any decision or consideration that may or may not have an impact on my company. I have attempted at all times to be honest and show integrity, he added.
There are claims that the tourism industry is dominated by businesses owned by the previously advantaged who control the market from car hire, accommodation, bookings and tours.
I am a Namibian, and if I recall my younger years, when we went anywhere and it was a bit seldom as money was an issue, we were served on every level by whites, he said.
He said this has changed, and people from all walks of life are involved.
The payments were signed off by NTB chief executive Digu Naobeb and Maureen Posthuma, who earlier headed the NTB's offices in Germany, but moved to Windhoek as the marketing manager.
Naobeb threatened NTB officials who are suspected of leaking information about the questionable payments.
Do not be an agent of distraction, he said in an email to workers.
Naobeb said that they realised and only picked it up later that Brinkmann's company was not registered.
It would seem there was some slackness and slippage in our internal controls, which is worrisome and regrettable, he said, adding that this should have been picked up by management before making payments.
The CEO said the NTB will create a database of companies from whom they source goods and services in Namibia.
Friday, 11 March 2016
TANZANIA: Members And Attractions Nominated for 23rd Annual World Travel Awards
Tanzania has registered a total of 24 entries which have been nominated for 23rd Annual World Travel Awards (WTA) in an event set to take place at Diamonds La Gemma dell’Est in Zanzibar, Tanzania on Saturday, April 9th, 2016; where winners in different categories will be announced in the dazzling red-carpet ceremony that will welcome hospitality leaders and luminaries from across the regions.
Among the entries from Tanzania is the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) which is competing under the Destination category of Africa’s leading Tourist Board 2016 against with Egyptian Tourist Authority, Gambia Tourism Board, Ghana Tourism Authority, Kenya Tourism Board and Moroccan National Tourism Organization. Others are Namibia Tourism Board, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation and Zanzibar Commission for Tourism
Entries from Tanzania and their categories in bracket are Julius Nyerere International Airport (Air category – Africa’s Leading Airport 2016) Dar es salaam and Zanzibar Ports (Cruise category –Africa’s Leading Cruise port 2016) Zanzibar (Destination category –Africa’s Leading beach destination 2016 and Africa’s Leading destination 2016) Mt. Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro crater (Destination category – Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2016) Serengeti National Park (Destination category – Africa’s Leading National Park 2016 and Tanzania Tourist Board (Destination category – Africa’s Leading Tourist Board 2016.
Others are Zanzibar’s Diamond La Gemma dell’Est, Dream of Zanzibar and Hideaway of Nungwi Resort &Spa (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading All-inclusive Resort 2016); Zanzibar’s Bluebay Beach Resort & , Dream of Zanzibar, Karafuu Beach Resort & Spa and Diamond La Gemma dell’Est (Hotel & Resorts category–Africa’s Leading Beach Resort 2016): Serena Hotel –Dar es salaam (Hotel & Resorts –Africa’s Leading city Hotel 2016); SingitaSasakwa Lodge (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Luxury lodge 2016); Breezes Beach Club, Karafuu Beach & Spa and Dream of Zanzibar (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Resort 2016); & Zanzibar’s Beyond Mnembe Island Lodge and Chapwani Private Island (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Private Island Resort 2016): Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Safari Lodge 2016) and Singita Sabora Camp and Jongomero Camp (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Tented Safari Camp 2016.
With more than 1,500 Africa & Indian Ocean nominations now revealed, voting which started 1st February is expected to be highly competitive right up until the February 29th deadline. World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “This is always an exciting time of year for World Travel Awards, as we unveil the nominees for the first Gala Ceremony of the year. As we have come to expect it is a stellar list, incorporating the leading lights of hospitality from across Africa and the Indian Ocean.
WTA which was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry, each year covers the globe with a series of regional Gala Ceremonies staged to recognise and celebrate individual and collective successes within each key geographical region.
In order to cast your vote you need first to register for an account. So to register and thereafter cast your vote, please visit www.worldtravelawards.com/register. A verification email will be sent to your email account and you will need to click the verification link to verify your email address before you can login to cast your vote. Please make sure you vote for Tanzania entries mentioned above.
Among the entries from Tanzania is the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) which is competing under the Destination category of Africa’s leading Tourist Board 2016 against with Egyptian Tourist Authority, Gambia Tourism Board, Ghana Tourism Authority, Kenya Tourism Board and Moroccan National Tourism Organization. Others are Namibia Tourism Board, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation and Zanzibar Commission for Tourism
Entries from Tanzania and their categories in bracket are Julius Nyerere International Airport (Air category – Africa’s Leading Airport 2016) Dar es salaam and Zanzibar Ports (Cruise category –Africa’s Leading Cruise port 2016) Zanzibar (Destination category –Africa’s Leading beach destination 2016 and Africa’s Leading destination 2016) Mt. Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro crater (Destination category – Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2016) Serengeti National Park (Destination category – Africa’s Leading National Park 2016 and Tanzania Tourist Board (Destination category – Africa’s Leading Tourist Board 2016.
Others are Zanzibar’s Diamond La Gemma dell’Est, Dream of Zanzibar and Hideaway of Nungwi Resort &Spa (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading All-inclusive Resort 2016); Zanzibar’s Bluebay Beach Resort & , Dream of Zanzibar, Karafuu Beach Resort & Spa and Diamond La Gemma dell’Est (Hotel & Resorts category–Africa’s Leading Beach Resort 2016): Serena Hotel –Dar es salaam (Hotel & Resorts –Africa’s Leading city Hotel 2016); SingitaSasakwa Lodge (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Luxury lodge 2016); Breezes Beach Club, Karafuu Beach & Spa and Dream of Zanzibar (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Resort 2016); & Zanzibar’s Beyond Mnembe Island Lodge and Chapwani Private Island (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Private Island Resort 2016): Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Safari Lodge 2016) and Singita Sabora Camp and Jongomero Camp (Hotel & Resorts – Africa’s Leading Tented Safari Camp 2016.
With more than 1,500 Africa & Indian Ocean nominations now revealed, voting which started 1st February is expected to be highly competitive right up until the February 29th deadline. World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “This is always an exciting time of year for World Travel Awards, as we unveil the nominees for the first Gala Ceremony of the year. As we have come to expect it is a stellar list, incorporating the leading lights of hospitality from across Africa and the Indian Ocean.
WTA which was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry, each year covers the globe with a series of regional Gala Ceremonies staged to recognise and celebrate individual and collective successes within each key geographical region.
In order to cast your vote you need first to register for an account. So to register and thereafter cast your vote, please visit www.worldtravelawards.com/register. A verification email will be sent to your email account and you will need to click the verification link to verify your email address before you can login to cast your vote. Please make sure you vote for Tanzania entries mentioned above.
Thursday, 25 February 2016
TANZANIA: Tanzania Vies For Tourism Awards
Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) said in a statement to the press in Dar es Salaam yesterday that winners in different categories will be announced in the dazzling red-carpet ceremony that would welcome hospitality leaders and luminaries across the regions.
Among the entries from Tanzania is the TTB which is competing under the Destination category of Africa’s leading Tourist Board 2016 against Egyptian Tourist Authority and Gambia Tourism Board.
Others are Namibia Tourism Board, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation and Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, Ghana Tourism Authority, Kenya Tourism Board and Moroccan National Tourism Organization.
Entries from Tanzania and their categories are Julius Nyerere International Airport (Air category - Africa’s Leading Airport 2016), Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar Ports (Cruise Category - Africa’s Leading Cruise port 2016) Zanzibar (Destination category-Africa’s Leading beach destination 2016 and Africa’s Leading Destination 2016).
Others are Mt Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater (Destination category-Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2016), Serengeti National Park (Destination category - Africa’s Leading National Park 2016 and Tanzania Tourist Board (Destination category - Africa’s Leading Tourist Board 2016).
In addition, there are Zanzibar’s Diamond La Gemma dell’Est, Dream of Zanzibar and Hideaway of Nungwi Resort and Spa (Hotel and Resorts - Africa’s Leading All inclusive Resort 2016), Zanzibar’s Bluebay Beach Resort and Dream of Zanzibar, Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa and Diamond La Gemma dell’Est (Hotel and Resorts category - Africa’s Leading Beach Resort 2016).
Other entries are Serena Hotel-Dar es Salaam (Hotel and Resorts - Africa’s Leading city hotel 2016) Singita Sasakwa Lodge (Hotel and Resorts - Africa’s Leading Luxury lodge 2016), Breezes Beach Club, Karafuu Beach and Spa and Dream of Zanzibar (Hotel and Resorts -Africa’s Leading Resorts 2016).
The statement further mentioned the entries as Zanzibar and Beyond Mnembe Island Lodge and Chapwani Private Island (Hotel and Resorts - Africa’s Leading Private Island 2016) Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti (Hotel and Resorts - Africa’s Leading Tented Safari Camp 2016) and Singita Sabora Camp and Jongomero Camp (Hotel and Resorts -Africa’s Leading Tented Safari Camp 2016).
According to the statement, with more than 1,500 Africa and Indian Ocean nominations now revealed, voting which started on February 1, is expected to be highly competitive right up until the February 29 deadline.
“This is always an exciting time of the year for World Travel Awards, as we unveil the nominees for the first Gala Ceremony of the year,” the statement quoted the World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke as saying.
Friday, 27 November 2015
NAMIBIA: Swakopmund Sits On Tourism Gold Mine
Swakopmund which is already a key tourism destination could generate an additional N$450 million if the town embarks upon aggressive marketing, rejuvenates its cultural tourism activities and African restaurants and extends the opening hours of shops.
This is according to Professor Dr Rainer Trede, a development consultant for southern Africa, who presented a draft policy on the proposed tourism growth and development strategy for Swakopmund.
Trede says Swakopmund is very un-African while real African experiences are almost non-existent at the town that is only distinguishable from Germany’s North Sea and Baltic coasts by its wind-blown sand and palm trees.
Trede is contracted by the Swakopmund Municipality to do a detailed study and come up with a tourism strategy for the town to promote the town as a prime urban tourist destination in southern and eastern Africa.
The draft document was presented on Wednesday to the municipality and various tourism stakeholders for scrutiny and recommendation.
The tourism strategy will be a key document towards tourism development, hence the document was shared with stakeholders for recommendations.
Stakeholders’ inputs and comments will be incorporated in the final document that will be implemented to develop the town into a true tourism magnet.
Presenting his findings, Trede said vigorous marketing means the town will have to venture into key areas such as marketing and advertising in foreign languages targeting countries such as Russia and France, apart from already existing tourists who include Germans and South Africans.
“Locals must be encouraged to venture into unconventional tourism activities such as donkey cart rides, cultural tours through townships while at the same time encourage tourists to stay longer. This can only be done when we prolong our opening times of our shops, sell quality products at reasonable prices, promote traditional food restaurants and activities and unconventional trips to places such as the desalination plant and uranium mines, to allow our tourists to see how Namibia is also developing,” he explained.
He says if Swakopmund implements the proposals at least 3 300 new jobs would be created while the current 10 000 jobs created through tourism would be sustained.
According to him tourism activities such as donkey cart rides and cultural and township tours will be a great idea to incorporate the German heritage with Namibian culture.
“Such activities are not expensive and will be a hit with tourists who are always in search of an African experience when coming to Namibia. Namibia is marketed well internationally. The Namibia Tourism Board is doing an excellent job in this regard. However, Swakopmund itself is not really marketed as a tourism destination. Apart from that there is simply not enough activity to keep tourists at the town,” he said.
This is according to Professor Dr Rainer Trede, a development consultant for southern Africa, who presented a draft policy on the proposed tourism growth and development strategy for Swakopmund.
Trede says Swakopmund is very un-African while real African experiences are almost non-existent at the town that is only distinguishable from Germany’s North Sea and Baltic coasts by its wind-blown sand and palm trees.
Trede is contracted by the Swakopmund Municipality to do a detailed study and come up with a tourism strategy for the town to promote the town as a prime urban tourist destination in southern and eastern Africa.
The draft document was presented on Wednesday to the municipality and various tourism stakeholders for scrutiny and recommendation.
The tourism strategy will be a key document towards tourism development, hence the document was shared with stakeholders for recommendations.
Stakeholders’ inputs and comments will be incorporated in the final document that will be implemented to develop the town into a true tourism magnet.
Presenting his findings, Trede said vigorous marketing means the town will have to venture into key areas such as marketing and advertising in foreign languages targeting countries such as Russia and France, apart from already existing tourists who include Germans and South Africans.
“Locals must be encouraged to venture into unconventional tourism activities such as donkey cart rides, cultural tours through townships while at the same time encourage tourists to stay longer. This can only be done when we prolong our opening times of our shops, sell quality products at reasonable prices, promote traditional food restaurants and activities and unconventional trips to places such as the desalination plant and uranium mines, to allow our tourists to see how Namibia is also developing,” he explained.
He says if Swakopmund implements the proposals at least 3 300 new jobs would be created while the current 10 000 jobs created through tourism would be sustained.
According to him tourism activities such as donkey cart rides and cultural and township tours will be a great idea to incorporate the German heritage with Namibian culture.
“Such activities are not expensive and will be a hit with tourists who are always in search of an African experience when coming to Namibia. Namibia is marketed well internationally. The Namibia Tourism Board is doing an excellent job in this regard. However, Swakopmund itself is not really marketed as a tourism destination. Apart from that there is simply not enough activity to keep tourists at the town,” he said.
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