News & Views
People and Places
Protea Hotels Namibia recently acquired the Zambezi River Lodge in Katima Mulilo, Caprivi region. It was previously part of the Namib Sun Hotels chain, owned by Ohlthaver & List. Protea's Regional Manager Namibia, Graham Howard, said he was delighted that Zambezi River Lodge would be added to their growing Namibian portfolio. A full refurbishment is planned to commence soon. He further stated 'we are keen to look at opportunities that will bring benefit to accommodation owners and further enhance tourism in Namibia.' Protea Hotels Namibia now manage 7 hotels in this country: Hotel Zum Sperrgebiet in Luderitz, the Pelican Bay and Protea Hotels in Walvis Bay, Guesthouse Indongo in Swakopmund, Hotel Pandu Ondangwa, the Fürstenhof in Windhoek and of course, the Zambezi River Lodge.
A change or two is afoot at the Namib i Tourist Information Centre in Swakopmund. Firstly, long serving Information Officer Erna Stamm, has left to return to Germany. In her place comes Peter Adrian, previously a freelance tour guide, who has already completed his Namib i training. Secondly, the Martin Luther Project has now been approved by the Swakopmund Town Council. Namib i is planning to have the current premises upgraded to include a boundary wall, parking area, toilet facilities and to establish a museum inside the building. An arts and crafts market will also be set up. All of these developments will be seen as the property of the Swakopmund Municipality, thus remaining a community project, though managed by Namib i for the time being. Estimated development costs are some N$250,000, of which Namibia Breweries have very generously donated N$200,000, a tremendous contribution towards tourism at the coast. There remains, however, a shortfall of N$50,000 in order to complete the project. 'Namib i will pledge N$2000,' says manager Almuth Styles, 'and I challenge everyone connected with tourism to match or better this amount. Let's bring the "Martin Luther" back to its former glory and make this a tourism hotspot at the entrance of Swakopmund!' Contact Almuth on [email protected]
Leading Lodges of Africa are rarely out of the news these days. The Intu Afrika Kalahari Private Game Reserve has just been taken under the stewardship of the LLA group, becoming part of their ever-burgeoning portfolio. Chairman Paul van der Vijver explained : 'We shall over a period of time totally renovate the entire establishment. First the Suricate Tented Camp will be fully upgraded with 12 extended tents and a new lapa, so capable of accommodating 24 guests. In due course, we then plan to amalgamate the Dune and Zebra Lodges into one entity offering 18 large, luxurious rooms.' Contact [email protected]
Business Affairs
Namibia Tourism Expo 2006 - a comment
This year's Tourism Expo - the eighth since its inception in 1999 - which ran from May 11- 13 at the Windhoek Show Grounds, was in many respects a great success. 10,150 visitors in all, an increase of some 10% over 2005 and nearly double the 2003 attendance. Well over 300 exhibitors, again the highest figure ever. It was exceptionally well organised by the daily newspaper Die Republikein, in particular by the inimitable Glenda Manthe-Grobler.
However, a dark cloud did hang over the Exposition. Noticeably, many of the major players within the Namibian Tourism industry were absent and unrepresented. Industry giants, amongst others, such as Wilderness Safaris, Leading Lodges of Africa and Namib Rand Nature Reserve, together with larger tour operators including Sense of Africa, Springbok Atlas and SWA Safaris - the very heart and soul of the country's tourism industry. Now companies might claim that Expo follows too closely onto the massive Indaba trade fair held in Durban RSA, which finished only two days previously; that exhibitor rates were increased again; that far fewer international tour operators attend the Windhoek show than other international fairs such as those held in Berlin (ITB) and London (WTM). But surely these reasons should not be allowed to lessen Namibia's own trade fair. Firstly, plenty of exhibitors managed to attend both shows. Secondly, any rate increases did not deter the largest trade attendance ever, many of whom have smaller marketing budgets. And lastly, how will the Namibia Tourism Expo ever become a major international show, if the top end of our industry stays away?
It was a situation not lost on the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Honourable Leon Jooste. In his address at the Expo 2006 Media Launch, the Deputy Minister remarked that 'We need to encourage the few, large corporate Namibian tour operators to commit and participate in the Expo.' To which he further added: 'Larger tourism operators who earn their income in Namibia have an obligation to actively participate in building and strengthening the economy in which they make their profits. Participation in the Namibia Tourism Expo gives something back to the country.' Similar comments were echoed by two of the several foreign countries exhibiting; officials on the Zimbabwean stand bemoaned 'the absence of tour operators that meant a predominant absence of trade' whilst Abubakar Mamat of Tourism Malaysia was also concerned over 'the poor participation of tour operators.'
Encouragement, though, was gained when Travelogue spoke to some of the missing tourism companies; Dave van Smeerdijk, M.D. of Wilderness Safaris, commented 'We will probably take a stand for next year & profile our conservation & community based tourism projects.' Whilst Paul van de Vijver, Chairman of Leading Lodges of Africa, said that 'the company will re-assess the situation and should be at Expo next year.' Springbok Atlas, in the words of Touring Manager Andre Barnard, Jnr, stated 'It is under consideration. I assume we will be part of this integral Expo next year. This year we were simply caught off guard by so many brochuring deadlines.' Some hope there for the future then. And the way forward for Expo? In the words of Deputy Minister Jooste once again, 'Expo could be managed and run by a separate legal entity, collectively working year-round with all stakeholders, to take this event to a higher level so it can grow from strength to strength.' Let us hope the tourism industry will collectively rise to this challenge. n
Protea Hotels Namibia recently acquired the Zambezi River Lodge in Katima Mulilo, Caprivi region. It was previously part of the Namib Sun Hotels chain, owned by Ohlthaver & List. Protea's Regional Manager Namibia, Graham Howard, said he was delighted that Zambezi River Lodge would be added to their growing Namibian portfolio. A full refurbishment is planned to commence soon. He further stated 'we are keen to look at opportunities that will bring benefit to accommodation owners and further enhance tourism in Namibia.' Protea Hotels Namibia now manage 7 hotels in this country: Hotel Zum Sperrgebiet in Luderitz, the Pelican Bay and Protea Hotels in Walvis Bay, Guesthouse Indongo in Swakopmund, Hotel Pandu Ondangwa, the Fürstenhof in Windhoek and of course, the Zambezi River Lodge.
A change or two is afoot at the Namib i Tourist Information Centre in Swakopmund. Firstly, long serving Information Officer Erna Stamm, has left to return to Germany. In her place comes Peter Adrian, previously a freelance tour guide, who has already completed his Namib i training. Secondly, the Martin Luther Project has now been approved by the Swakopmund Town Council. Namib i is planning to have the current premises upgraded to include a boundary wall, parking area, toilet facilities and to establish a museum inside the building. An arts and crafts market will also be set up. All of these developments will be seen as the property of the Swakopmund Municipality, thus remaining a community project, though managed by Namib i for the time being. Estimated development costs are some N$250,000, of which Namibia Breweries have very generously donated N$200,000, a tremendous contribution towards tourism at the coast. There remains, however, a shortfall of N$50,000 in order to complete the project. 'Namib i will pledge N$2000,' says manager Almuth Styles, 'and I challenge everyone connected with tourism to match or better this amount. Let's bring the "Martin Luther" back to its former glory and make this a tourism hotspot at the entrance of Swakopmund!' Contact Almuth on [email protected]
Leading Lodges of Africa are rarely out of the news these days. The Intu Afrika Kalahari Private Game Reserve has just been taken under the stewardship of the LLA group, becoming part of their ever-burgeoning portfolio. Chairman Paul van der Vijver explained : 'We shall over a period of time totally renovate the entire establishment. First the Suricate Tented Camp will be fully upgraded with 12 extended tents and a new lapa, so capable of accommodating 24 guests. In due course, we then plan to amalgamate the Dune and Zebra Lodges into one entity offering 18 large, luxurious rooms.' Contact [email protected]
Business Affairs
Namibia Tourism Expo 2006 - a comment
This year's Tourism Expo - the eighth since its inception in 1999 - which ran from May 11- 13 at the Windhoek Show Grounds, was in many respects a great success. 10,150 visitors in all, an increase of some 10% over 2005 and nearly double the 2003 attendance. Well over 300 exhibitors, again the highest figure ever. It was exceptionally well organised by the daily newspaper Die Republikein, in particular by the inimitable Glenda Manthe-Grobler.
However, a dark cloud did hang over the Exposition. Noticeably, many of the major players within the Namibian Tourism industry were absent and unrepresented. Industry giants, amongst others, such as Wilderness Safaris, Leading Lodges of Africa and Namib Rand Nature Reserve, together with larger tour operators including Sense of Africa, Springbok Atlas and SWA Safaris - the very heart and soul of the country's tourism industry. Now companies might claim that Expo follows too closely onto the massive Indaba trade fair held in Durban RSA, which finished only two days previously; that exhibitor rates were increased again; that far fewer international tour operators attend the Windhoek show than other international fairs such as those held in Berlin (ITB) and London (WTM). But surely these reasons should not be allowed to lessen Namibia's own trade fair. Firstly, plenty of exhibitors managed to attend both shows. Secondly, any rate increases did not deter the largest trade attendance ever, many of whom have smaller marketing budgets. And lastly, how will the Namibia Tourism Expo ever become a major international show, if the top end of our industry stays away?
It was a situation not lost on the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Honourable Leon Jooste. In his address at the Expo 2006 Media Launch, the Deputy Minister remarked that 'We need to encourage the few, large corporate Namibian tour operators to commit and participate in the Expo.' To which he further added: 'Larger tourism operators who earn their income in Namibia have an obligation to actively participate in building and strengthening the economy in which they make their profits. Participation in the Namibia Tourism Expo gives something back to the country.' Similar comments were echoed by two of the several foreign countries exhibiting; officials on the Zimbabwean stand bemoaned 'the absence of tour operators that meant a predominant absence of trade' whilst Abubakar Mamat of Tourism Malaysia was also concerned over 'the poor participation of tour operators.'
Encouragement, though, was gained when Travelogue spoke to some of the missing tourism companies; Dave van Smeerdijk, M.D. of Wilderness Safaris, commented 'We will probably take a stand for next year & profile our conservation & community based tourism projects.' Whilst Paul van de Vijver, Chairman of Leading Lodges of Africa, said that 'the company will re-assess the situation and should be at Expo next year.' Springbok Atlas, in the words of Touring Manager Andre Barnard, Jnr, stated 'It is under consideration. I assume we will be part of this integral Expo next year. This year we were simply caught off guard by so many brochuring deadlines.' Some hope there for the future then. And the way forward for Expo? In the words of Deputy Minister Jooste once again, 'Expo could be managed and run by a separate legal entity, collectively working year-round with all stakeholders, to take this event to a higher level so it can grow from strength to strength.' Let us hope the tourism industry will collectively rise to this challenge. n
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