Botswana Tourism engaged in a panel discussion at Experience Africa by ATTA. The Tourism Organization was represented by Jonathan Camm- Ecotourism Officer.
The Experience Africa by ATTA was hosted under the theme “Shaping the future of sustainable tourism and regenerative travel in Africa”. The Botswana Tourism Organization has shared the images from the event on their social media.
The aim of the interaction was to honour and highlight the tourism products of the nation.
BTO presented on the importance of standards and eco-certification. The organization is currently reviewing the Botswana Ecotourism Certification System (Accommodation and Ecotours Standards).
The aim of the review is to ensure its alignment with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). This initiative aims to that operators are environmentally conscious and broaden their appeal to travellers who prioritize destinations with certified sustainable tourism offerings.
Key highlights included:
- Expansion of Botswana’s Ecotourism Market by aligning with GSTC;
- Collaboration to strengthen the Botswana Ecotourism Certification System (BECS) through partnerships with international organisations and leveraging global best practices;
- Citizen Economic Empowerment as per National Ecotourism Strategy, Economic Inclusion Act and the Community Based Natural Resource Management programme to ensure citizen and community participation in Botswana’s tourism economy;
- Empowering Communities – Emphasizing the importance of community ownership in the tourism value chain, not just employment but driving the sector for sustainability.
Botswana is proactively developing policies to encourage citizen and community involvement, ensuring that tourism growth benefits everyone.
The tourism stakeholders of the country have shared that the Tourism Organization has travelled to the different parts of the world. They have participated in several tourism events in several parts of the world to encourage better tourism footfall in the nation.
The Botswana Tourism Organization has been working hard to strengthen the tourism sector of the nation. Through the collaboration with ATTA, the organization want to make sure that everyone can benefit from the profits reaped by the tourism sector.