Botswana Tourism Organization in partnership with Air Botswana, South African Airways and the Botswana private tourism industry will from the 1st to the 3rd December host tour operators from around the world at the Travel and Tourism Exposition (BTTE) slated for Kasane in the Chobe district. The expo is the second of its kind, following the first which was also held at this tourism town last year.
About ninety tour operators from Europe and eighty from various local tourism establishments are expected to converge at Kasane’s Seboba recreational park where they are expected to interact, share industry experiences and challenges, and later map a way forward in their quest to take the industry to new heights. It is not yet clear if all the invited guests will make it to the event after fears that some might pull out at the eleventh hour in light over concerns of the deadly Ebola pandemic, particularly as some visitors might have to travel though countries in West Africa.
However an official from Maun’s BTO office said people should not panic, as measures have been put in place to ensure all in place. She said currently they had not received any cancellations, adding that the expectation is that all those who have been invited will show up. “Even if they fail to come, we will simply take it that it has been because of other hiccups on their part, not because of Ebola scare.
Our guests have been orientated, and so we take it that they know they are coming to an Ebola free area country.” Managing Director at SKL Group of camps Reaboka Mbulwa says his company has not experienced any drop of sales yet. “Maybe it is because my clients are mainly from South Africa and overseas. Those from Europe mostly come through Namibia and South Africa, and so they are not by any means threatened by Ebola as they do not have any contact with people from affected countries”, he said.
