Ten years of Namibia Tourism Expo

The Namibian Tourism Expo celebrates its 10th year this year and it has indeed come a long way.
When it was started in 1999 the "Namibian Holiday and Travel Expo" took place from 24 to 26 June. The idea for the Expo evolved from a highly successful series of game related functions presented over many years. The next obvious step was to include all facets of the Namibian tourism sector.

Members of the private sector, the Ministry of Tourism and various tourism associations were involved in organising the expo.
The first Expo took place at the Olympia Expo centre and included a food and wine festival where local delicacies like oysters, seafood and game specialities as well as meat products that Namibia is famous for were featured.
The hospitality and tourism industry was represented by guest farms, hotels, lodges, resorts as well as businesses related to the industry in the 45 stalls.
Various lectures were presented and a golf day was held as well as a variety of activities including 4X4 routes especially planned for the Expo, PROAMM shooting as well as a fresh water fishing competition, a photographic competition, city tours and a chef's competition.

The then Minister of Environment and Tourism, Phillemon Malima said at the time: "The Namibia Holiday and Travel Expo is a real example of people in tourism getting on and helping themselves rather than expecting Government or my Ministry to act."
In 2000 Venture Publications who initiated the first Expo, invited Republikein to get involved to create a stronger and more lasting basis for the event. Managing Director of Democratic Media Holdings, the publisher of Republikein, Chrisna Greeff said the newspaper's participation was aimed at playing a role in the development of a national asset.
This year international exhibitors came on board for the first time with Tourism Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Dubai participating. Awards in different categories were also given to the best exhibits.

In 2001 the photographic competition became one of the highlights of the Expo. It was held at the SKW (Sport Klub Windhoek).
By 2002 the number of stalls had increased to 103, filling the SKW hall to capacity. International exhibitors occupied ten percent of the stalls. Several South African tour operators attended the event to view what tourism pro-ducts Namibia had to offer.
The international sponsor, Fudji announced that it would sponsor part of the annual photographic competition. The chef's competition still thrived and a cook-off took place a week before the Expo, judged by international judges.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Tourism Board, Gideon Shilongo, said the Expo was a good example of what could be done in a country with limited resources, but a lot of goodwill.
In 2003 it was decided that the date of the Namibia Holiday and Travel Expo should fit in with existing trade shows in the Southern African region and was moved from June to May.
The Expo grew into a tourism week involving not only tourism but all related industries, the business community, schools and the public.
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) held its congress during the same week as the Expo and hosted a gala dinner which concluded the Expo.
Due to the growing interest in the Expo it had to be moved to the Windhoek Show Grounds in Jan Jonker Avenue.
A "Crafts Alive" exhibition where craftsmen and women demonstrated their skills in, amongst others basket weaving, was presented and for the first time journalists from Europe and South Africa were invited to attend the Expo.
2004 saw a major increase in interest from international visitors, especially from South Africa. Tourism week was also used to create an awareness campaign among residents of Windhoek as part of the "You're welcome" campaign launched by the City of Windhoek.

By 2005 more than 300 businesses were represented at the Expo giving amongst others exposure to environmentally sustainable, community development and economic incentive projects like Kalahari Wild Silk and conservation initiatives such as the Namibia Nature Foundation, Namibia Animal Rehabilitation and conservation minded businesses like Africa Contact Adventures.
A 4 x 4 section with accessories like camping equipment was introduced this year.
In 2006 a new phase was entered with the show begin branded as the Namibia Tourism Expo, with a new logo that symbolises
the
colours and simplicity of the product it represents. The five key players at this Expo were the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Namibia Tourism Board, Air Namibia, Fenata and the City of Windhoek.
At this Expo, Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister, Leon Jooste said the event was an opportunity for the industry to create local awareness of the vitality and importance of the sector, to inspire Namibians to become part of tourism in whichever way and to sample Namibia's tourism products. More than 10 000 people attended this Expo.
Last year in 2007 the visitors' figure shot up and 13 388 visitors poured through the gates. Exhibitors' stall were more interactive involving visitors in the exhibitions. The inclusion of the Motor Show was introduced at the 2007 Expo and proved to be a major success.
The Namibia Tourist Expo has proved that it is a viable and vibrant event on Namibia's events calender and promises to keep evolving and getting better every year.