NAMIBIA Wildlife Resorts realised N$361 million in revenue during the 2017/18 financial year.
In a statement released on Thursday, the parastatal said this revenue resulted from an aggressive marketing drive which the company undertook, in addition to the introduction of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (Kaza) tour package.
This package attracted a lot of interest at ITB Berlin and the Africa Showcase: North America roadshow that NWR attended. The company also went on a cost-cutting drive which yielded positive results, the statement added.
In 2013, the company’s cost of sales stood at 72%, but was brought down to 43% this year. Next year’s target is 35%, which is the industry standard.
To reach these targets, NWR is working towards finalising its Khorixas training institution.
NWR said the key focus of the institution will be equipping their staff members and other interested individuals with the best practices within the hospitality industry. The facility will still be open to the general public, and will be catered to by the students. NWR anticipates opening it officially at the beginning of 2019, according to NWR managing director Zelna Hengari.
Moreover, NWR introduced its revised NamLeisure cards, which started offering a 25% discount on meals and activities, along with a student card.
“Looking at the current interest on the cards, it is safe to say they have tremendously assisted our domestic travellers to enjoy all that NWR has to offer at discounted rates. Over the past few months, we have seen a huge uptake from first-time buyers due to the additional discounts now on offer,” Anna Onen, NWR sales and reservations manager added.
PARTNERSHIPS
For any company to grow, it requires partners to help it expand its share of the market.
In line with this, NWR has good working relationships with tour operators, who supply the company with a great deal of its clientele.
It is for this reason that it held a function specifically to reward top-performing tour operators.
“This event was testament to the value that we place on our partners, in addition to our appreciation of them,” Mufaro Njabulo Nesongano, NWR corporate communications and online media manager, said.
In solidifying its ability to host big tour groups, NWR took over 50 bikers through the Kaza countries (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in less than 10 days. The tour aimed to showcase the most significant conservation area in the world, as well as expose the bikers to the various communities within these areas.
“To date, each time I speak with the bikers who were on this tour, all of them cannot stop talking about the Namibian part, which to them was the best of all. From our side, this tour showed us that we have what it takes to host big tour groups.
“Therefore, as we go ahead, this is going to be one of our key focus areas. It was just unfortunate that the man who spearheaded the realisation of the Tshwane Legend Bikers Club tour, Ernest Mokganedi, passed on in July. This was a big blow to the plans that we had. However, we made a promise to ourselves to ensure that we continue where he left off,” Hengari added.
CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENTS
In giving back, NWR hosted pupils from a primary school in Windhoek at its Hardap resort under its Enviro-Kidz programme.
The programme aims at educating children on the importance of looking after the environment.
“Due to the huge interest that we received, we will take in more learners, and also include learners from around the country next year. We aim to afford them an equal opportunity to experience Namibia’s national parks, and to learn about how important they are to us as a country,” Nesongano stated.
