18 Mar 2015

For an ordinary Motswana, sleepless nights would be the order of the day if they owned not even a single cow. Cattle have always been a part of a Motswana as a source of  income and social status.

Then came the era of minerals especially diamonds which until recently when the need to diversify the economy gain currency, the country heavily relied on for revenue.   Consequebtly, in an effort to diversify the economy, tourism became one of the key sectors.

It is against this background that lately some areas especially Gaborone have witnessed a mushrooming of hospitality facilities such as guesthouses or Bed and Breakfast (B&B) lodges. 

Department of Tourism director, Ms Gloria Maselesele, says provision of Bed and Breakfast (B&B) facilities has been reserved for Batswana. Presently there are 520 accommodation facilities, of which 56 are Bed and Breakfast spread across the country. 

Ms Maselesele says reserving the B&B facility for Batswana only was to afford citizens an opportunity to have a bigger stake in the tourism sector as entrepreneurs. Maselesele adds that the initiative has helped a lot to create employment and is contributing significantly to the economy.

She explains that with the domestic guest house facility one does not need land-use change so that should they fail to run the business they can maintain it as a family house.  She says they have waived a number of requirements such as parking space but there are minimum requirements that operators have to meet so that it bodes well for the country.

Ms Maselesele says their desire is to see more Batswana venturing into this type of business as it has proved to be viable.  “Tourism has always been resilient, it survived the economic meltdown. 

Provision of accommodation as a sub sector can grow the country’s economy. Our hope is for government to inject money into tourism as the second engine of the economy,” reckons Ms Maselesele.  She says Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) has also been mandated to help market these facilities hence there is a catalogue with profiles all registered accommodation facilities.

Ms Maselesele says the bulk of operators of such facilities are between the ages 40 and 60 years.  This is so because most people in the business are older and home owners. ENDS