- Optimistic for double-digit growth
- Gov’t, tourism industry to find common ground on vegetable import ban
- Pending concession leases to be issued soon
- Air Botswana re-fleets, expands routes
- Ethiopian Airways expands routes
The tourism industry holds great promise to stimulate Botswana’s domestic output to new levels.
Speaking at the 39th Annual Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference last week Friday at Maun, President Mokgweetsi Masisi told delegates that tourism, often regarded as the lifeblood of many economies throughout the world, holds limitless potential to drive positive change on a global scale, not least in Botswana.
Prior to the keynote address, the newly appointed HATAB Chairman Joe Motse raised thorny issues bedevilling the tourism industry. He reiterated concerns by several high-end tour operators in the Okavango Delta who have been operating for years with expired concession leases.
“Some have gone for years now, and no one knows whether the leases will be renewed or not,” he said, adding;
“Some operators have applied for new leases, and it has been years now with no responses.”
Motse’s primary concern was that the camps and lodges business in the delta requires substantial investments, emphasising that when investors make critical business decisions, they take into account the business climate and other factors that may make them hesitant to invest. It is this hesitance that slows down the tourism sector’s development and uncertainty.
His concerns were not new. HATAB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lily Rakorong has recently been urging the government to protect tourism investors who have been operating in Botswana for decades, particularly in the Okavango Delta and Chobe areas, and to also be decisive in making key industry decisions.
“Concession leases will be cleaned out very quickly,” Masisi responded, much to the amusement of the delegates, who were mostly tourism industry investors. But he cautioned operators to invest in the communities they operate in.
“You can do whatever you want with your profits. All we ask is for you to give back to the communities you operate in. We shall give leases and support those who operate in good faith and will not hesitate to take out those operating in bad faith,” the president cautioned.
“We will also deal swiftly with this vegetable issue,” he added.
He was also addressing one of the thorny issues raised by Motse, who expressed concerns about the expansion of the import ban list. This list now includes items beyond vegetables, such as meat, including pork ribs, and pastries.
Government said the ban was to promote food self-sufficiency. Motse said HATAB fully supports the ban, but invited the government to engage the industry to find solutions where there are demand and/or supply challenges. Expanding on the matter, the Minister of Agriculture, Fidelis Molao said the import ban was meant to empower Batswana and to also improve food self-sufficiency.
“We are not oblivious to challenges of shortage of supply,” he said, adding that inspite of the challenges, results are visible.
Since its inception, vegetable production has grown from 67 612 tonnes to 82 280 tonnes as at 2023, representing a 21.6 percent production growth. However, he said, this is still in short supply, considering the local demand.
“Moreover, we have reduced the vegetable import bill by 71 percent from P634 million in 2018 to P182 million by 2023. This money is now sitting here with small and large-scale farmers,” he said.
Further, Molao invited tourism industry players and farmers to sit with government and find a way of plucking in the gaps to ensure that demand and quality are met, while also pushing for self-sufficiency. He underscored the importance for the tourism industry to have enough quality supply so as to grow the industry and maintain its world-class quality.
“For our country, the tourism sector plays a critical role in our economy as the second largest revenue earner and contributor to our national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It contributes significantly to investment, economic growth, wealth creation and employment,” said President Masisi, adding that the government is implementing reforms to grow the tourism industry.
As per the Quarter 3, 2023 Multi-Topic Survey conducted by Statistics Botswana, the hospitality sector, being a crucial component of the tourism industry, contributed approximately 23,000 jobs, which represents 4.1 percent of all formal jobs. According to the survey, 94 percent of these employees are citizens. The Statistical data from the Tourism
Satellite Accounts (TSA) also demonstrate that the tourism sector contributes 5.1 percent to the country’s GDP.
Masisi said these figures bear testimony to tourism and hospitality as being among the leading creators of jobs in Botswana.
“It is a socio-economic imperative for the tourism industry, and, indeed, the private sector as a whole, to create even more job opportunities for our nation, particularly its young people who account for 60 percent of Botswana’s national population,” he added.
He emphasised further that through collaborative efforts between government and the industry, it is possible for the tourism industry to contribute more than 10 percent to the GDP, which he said will go a long way in helping government achieve a high-income economy by 2036.
To reach a high-income status economy by 2036, Botswana must maintain a consistently positive annual economic growth rate of between 5 and 6 percent according to Masisi.
“We, however, have on average, recorded growth rates below the required rates since 2008. This points to the need for broad-based structural reforms that would enable us to grow at a faster pace and become a high-income economy by 2036, a mere 12 years from now,” he stated.
Hunting and Photographic tourism can co-exist
According to Masisi, government expects all tourism sub-sectors to arrive at a correct understanding, that in the tourism industry, Botswana has a unique product and resource that manifests in both consumptive and non-consumptive practices.
“Both photography and controlled hunting are viable options that support the economy of this republic and the livelihoods of our communities. We should therefore be more circumspect and never appear to be tilting the scale in favour of one preoccupation at the expense of the other. In this wildlife economy, the twinned and integrated enterprises of photographic tourism and controlled hunting tourism are mutually interdependent rather than exclusive,” he explained. HATAB Chairman, Motse announced that HATAB supports government’s position on controlled hunting. “However, on policy issues, we can only make our position clear publicly after engaging with government to fully understand their position,” he said.
Improving Air Connectivity
According to the International Visitor Arrivals Stats Brief, Botswana received a total of 248,946 international visitors (tourists) during the second quarter of 2022.
These represented 88.2 percent of total non-citizen arrivals (282,220) the bulk of whom emanated from the SADC sub-region. In-Transit tourists represented the highest proportion of tourists, at 47.6 percent (99,986) followed by Business tourists at 19.9 percent (41,791 of all the tourist arrivals.
“All we have to do is to maintain the momentum and scale up the performance. For us to grow the tourism sector even further we need to re-double our efforts to improve air connectivity,” Masisi said.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Bao Rasebolai Mosinyi the authority is working tirelessly to attract more long-haul carriers to “our shores to promote the growth of the tourism sector”.
He announced that Ethiopian Airlines, which already operates the Gaborone – Addis Ababa route, will be adding the Maun – Addis Ababa route to its schedule with effect from June 2024.
He said this will increase convenience and the volume of travellers into Botswana. “We have done a lot of groundwork, and all I can say is that Airlines that used to operate in Botswana, are coming back,” he said, adding that they are also renovating the Airports to ensure world-class comfort for travellers.
According to Dr Mosinyi CAAB is also working on a plan to set up a comfortable lounge at Maun International Airport to enhance the experience of passengers, as well as mitigate congestion.
For her part, Air Botswana CEO Lulu Rasebotsa announced at the event that the Airline is set for expansion with the acquisition of three new planes.
She announced that one is fully paid for and is expected in Botswana by late June, while letters of intent have been issued for the other two.
“These additions will facilitate new routes, including Windhoek-Maun and potentially Gaborone-Durban direct flights. Plans also include Mpumalanga-Maun services and the revival of Cape Town-Kasane routes,” she announced, adding that these additions are all geared at ease of travelling in and out of Botswana to grow the volume of travellers and consequently the tourism industry.
