Tourism beyond borders

Tourism Expo kicks off on Wednesday
Frank Steffen
Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) announced that the 24th Tourism Expo opens on Wednesday, 26 April, in Windhoek.
This is according to NMH public relations executive Maggy Mbako, who said that the annual expo has been moved forward to allow exhibitors to showcase their products and services before the tourism high season starts in Namibia.
According to NMH, the organiser of the annual expo, the “upcoming four years will be dedicated to marketing Namibia and the region with the theme ‘Beyond Borders’.”
The Tourism Expo takes place from 26 to 28 April at the Windhoek Country Club Resort. It prides itself on being the biggest tourism event in Namibia and brings together tourism stakeholders from Namibia and neighbouring countries.
Gitta Paetzold, chief executive officer of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), said: “2023 thus far carries all the signs of not only a full tourism recovery but even growth of the travel and hospitality sectors in Namibia, with room and bed occupancy at some properties even exceeding the levels of the pre-Covid era.”
She said tourism in Namibia has “shown remarkable resilience and displayed a full commitment to drive Namibia’s tourism industry forward, despite all odds, and what is even more encouraging is the evidence of commitment through major multi-million dollar investments in tourism infrastructure, with some of the old establishments enjoying a complete revamp and other new properties set up. The Namibian tourism industry, as a key and sustainable economic pillar for this country, is here to stay and prosper beyond expectations.”
The expo not only aims to welcome the public as visitors each day from 16:00 to 22:00, starting on Wednesday and ending on Friday, but it will also serve as a networking hub on Thursday and Friday (27 and 28 April) to promote the link between social investment institutions and communities. A line-up of highly skilled presenters will lead these events.
Given Namibia’s high rate of unemployment, the expo seminars will focus on themes such as ‘Youth in Tourism’ and ‘Funding Opportunities for Youth in Conservation’. These themes will be delved into by Sebulon Chicalu, the director for tourism in the environment, forestry and tourism ministry, and Nabot Mbeeli, senior coordinator of community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) projects, respectively.