…interfaces with global travel trade, media at WTM
With some of the world’s rarest nature offerings, rich wildlife, challenging terrains, best man-made attractions, exciting culture and warm people, Botswana is the destination to beat in Africa.
From adventure, sports, cultural heritage, MICE to wildlife, Botswana has enough offerings to excite visitors.
While the Southern African country does not lack tourists, it is passionate at further growing its arrivals from visitors across the world.
That need to woo more tourists made the country, through Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO), its tourism promotion agency, to step out of its comfort zone to court tourists and global travel trade.
One of such strategic effort is its participation in this year’s World Travel Market in London, in early November.
Truly, it was an engaging outing for Botswana Tourism at the just-concluded WTM 2023 in London.
Taking advantage of the global travel market platform, BTO explored the world of luxury travel to discover the epitome of travel experiences.
Of course, Botswana aims to stay updated on the latest trends and preferences within the luxury travel market, which includes learning about the types of experiences and services that are currently in demand among affluent travellers.
Moreover, by attending the Luxury Travel Market, Botswana aims to gather valuable knowledge and insights that will enable it to tailor its marketing, products, and services to cater to the luxury travel sector effectively. This, in turn, can help attract high-end visitors seeking exclusive and unforgettable experiences in Botswana.
As expected, the Botswana delegation at the show met with an impressive number of tourism wholesalers from around the world who sell luxury packages to Botswana. It is pleasing to note that affluent travellers have placed Botswana ahead in Africa for experiential and premium travel. Also, feedback received confirmed that travellers do repeat holidays in Botswana following the authenticity of the products.
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Moreover, on the sideline of the show, BTO engaged the UK public, media and travel trade outside the WTM platform.
One of the engagements was a roadshow to familiarize itself with the travel trade in the United Kingdom.
The destination has since the last travel show in Japan moved to the United Kingdom to grow the destination.
However, the roadshow rides on the tourism board’s earlier efforts at revitalizing the market with diverse tourism offerings.
The roadshow started with the participation of BTO officials in the luxury travel market show where they interacted with industry experts and players in the UK.
The acting board chairman, Wincey, was impressed with the roadshow and BTO’s participation at WTM London 2023.
Apart from the roadshow, BTO paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London.
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The visit was an excellent opportunity for Botswana Tourism to engage with the UK’s prominent world-leading public service broadcaster and further its efforts at promoting Botswana as a travel destination. During the visit, it engaged with BBC representatives to identify media exposure opportunities that will enable it to showcase the beauty and attractions of Botswana as well as discuss media coverage prospects.
Moreover, the visit offered Botswana Tourism an opportunity to strengthen media relations, promote Botswana as a travel destination, explore content creation possibilities, and engage with the BBC’s global audience. As expected, the visit is going to play a vital role in raising awareness and increasing exposure for Botswana in the global travel and tourism industry.
On its part, the BBC hosted the Botswana team for a breakfast to discuss, in detail, opportunities for travel-related content. In the end, BTO resolved to work with BBC to ensure that Destination Botswana is featured well in its coverage.
Meanwhile, anchors from the BBC; Carmen Roberts, former editor and Rajan Datar, attended the Botswana Tourism Investment Summit, which was held from November 22-24, 2023 in Gaborone.
