Namibia told to show the world what it can offer

By: ABSALOM SHIGWEDHA

THE vice president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has called on Namibia to show what it can offer to tourists during the World Adventure Travel Summit (AWTS), which the country will host in October.

“It is your chance to make a statement to the world,” said Chris Doyle. He said every world destination has challenges but these challenges should be openly discussed.
He said the AWTS will be an opportunity for Namibia to conduct business and see return on investment. Doyle gave a presentation on how to maximise benefits of hosting the AWTS in Windhoek on Tuesday.
Namibia will host the event from October 26 to 31 this year. Doyle is in Namibia to do the final inspection of how the country is preparing for the event. He said Namibia has accomplished a lot but challenges will always be there.
Digu //Naobeb, the chief executive officer of the Namibia Tourism Board and a member of the ATWS secretariat, said the event will help market Namibia as a tourist destination.
He said people who will attend the event will bring money into the country’s economy and will also recommend Namibia as a tourist destination to their clients  as  some of them are tour operators.
The editor of The Namibian newspaper, Tangeni Amupadhi, who moderated an international journalists’ panel, said Namibia’s tourism industry has the potential to alleviate poverty as it is creating jobs through the conservancy programme.
John Kasaona, the co-director of  Integrated Rural  Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), commented that Namibia’s community-based natural resources programme has proved to the world that conservation does not only take place in wildlife parks.
The AWTS  is a gathering of like-minded professionals, tourism and adventure buyers, sellers and travel enthusiasts from more 50 countries. The group comes together annually to discover new destinations, strategise on how best to market them, participate in business networking and forge sustainable partnerships. The association has more than 20 000 members.

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