Namib-i: Tourism is everybody’s business

THE Namib-i Tourism and Publicity Association has, over the past year, regained recognition as the official and representative tourism body for the Erongo Region, outgoing Chairperson Bruce Burns says in his annual report.

The association held its annual general meeting last week and elected a new chairperson for 2004-5. Merrilyn Leippert, owner of Levo Tours at Walvis Bay, takes over from Burns.She was nominated onto the Namib-i management committee as a representative of Coastal Tour Operators.Burns further reported that Namib-i had placed a high priority on marketing the Erongo Region and Namibia internationally over the past year.Apart from attending various travel fairs and a complete revamp of the association’s website, the information office at Swakopmund handled on average 50 visitors a day, seven days a week.A further 15 to 20 e-mail queries were processed.One of the first activities to be undertaken by Namib-i following the recent launch of its new website will be to update the Swakopmund street name index to include all the changed street names at the town.The office hopes to be able to make the map available free of charge to visitors.Namib-i and Walvis-i, in co-operation with the local newspaper, plan to embark on a project to encourage tourists to comment on service delivery.Leaflets are distributed widely asking for feedback.All positive comments will be evaluated for authenticity and published in the paper, while negative comments or criticism will be investigated and forwarded to the relevant parties to help them improve.The project is run under the logo of the Walvis-i office ‘Tourism is everybody’s business’.Burns reported that Namib-i had also got involved in a number of other “important issues”, such as crime.As more tourists became crime targets, Namib-i worked closely with the Erongo Regional Governor, the Police and the local branch of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) to help find solutions.Apart from a special force brought to Swakopmund that led to a dramatic decline in reported cases, Namib-i negotiated with a possible donor to provide housing to increase the number of permanent Police officers based at Swakopmund.Several crime incidents were noted at the ATM facilities of Standard Bank in the central business area, and a full-time guard was posted to the venue when the issue was taken up with the bank’s management.On the training front, the association decided to offer basic training to previously disadvantaged school leavers.It includes a three-month training period at Namib-i.The first trainee completed the programme in February and was offered a follow-up course of six months with Wilderness Safaris with an option to be appointed permanently.In an effort to help underprivileged members of the community, Namib-i offered to become a collection depot for any obsolete items from accommodation establishments.These include towels, used soap pieces, sheets and mattresses.The items are distributed to needy people via the Lions Club.Merrilyn Leippert, owner of Levo Tours at Walvis Bay, takes over from Burns.She was nominated onto the Namib-i management committee as a representative of Coastal Tour Operators.Burns further reported that Namib-i had placed a high priority on marketing the Erongo Region and Namibia internationally over the past year.Apart from attending various travel fairs and a complete revamp of the association’s website, the information office at Swakopmund handled on average 50 visitors a day, seven days a week.A further 15 to 20 e-mail queries were processed.One of the first activities to be undertaken by Namib-i following the recent launch of its new website will be to update the Swakopmund street name index to include all the changed street names at the town.The office hopes to be able to make the map available free of charge to visitors.Namib-i and Walvis-i, in co-operation with the local newspaper, plan to embark on a project to encourage tourists to comment on service delivery.Leaflets are distributed widely asking for feedback.All positive comments will be evaluated for authenticity and published in the paper, while negative comments or criticism will be investigated and forwarded to the relevant parties to help them improve.The project is run under the logo of the Walvis-i office ‘Tourism is everybody’s business’.Burns reported that Namib-i had also got involved in a number of other “important issues”, such as crime.As more tourists became crime targets, Namib-i worked closely with the Erongo Regional Governor, the Police and the local branch of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) to help find solutions.Apart from a special force brought to Swakopmund that led to a dramatic decline in reported cases, Namib-i negotiated with a possible donor to provide housing to increase the number of permanent Police officers based at Swakopmund.Several crime incidents were noted at the ATM facilities of Standard Bank in the central business area, and a full-time guard was posted to the venue when the issue was taken up with the bank’s management.On the training front, the association decided to offer basic training to previously disadvantaged school leavers.It includes a three-month training period at Namib-i.The first trainee completed the programme in February and was offered a follow-up course of six months with Wilderness Safaris with an option to be appointed permanently.In an effort to help underprivileged members of the community, Namib-i offered to become a collection depot for any obsolete items from accommodation establishments.These include towels, used soap pieces, sheets and mattresses.The items are distributed to needy people via the Lions Club.