01 Sep 2020

Batswana have been encouraged to undertake domestic tourism to know their country better as well as to revive the tourism industry, which has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Narrating the journey of the Rediscover Botswana Expedition on Sunday, two local journalists, Thalefang Charles and Sonny Serite, who undertook a cross country road trip of more than 8 000km, expressed their gratitude for the opportunity they got to explore the country. 

The duo were part of a team that took a cross country journey exploring and rediscovering local tourism destinations. 

The 27 days journey sponsored by Botswana Tourism Organisation began on July 27 at Matsieng Footprint in Rasesa and ended on August 22 at three Dikgosi monuments at Central Business District in Gaborone.

Sharing the tales of the journey, Charles who was the torchbearer, said the concept to tour Botswana came at an opportune time when the tourism industry was no longer operating at full capacity due to international travel restrictions imposed by protocols to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the aim of the expedition was meant to promote domestic travel and to inspire Batswana appreciate Botswana’s treasures.

Charles’ observation was that locals did not value wildlife tourism as most of them only travel to stay in lodges. He added that wildlife tourism was largely explored by international travellers.

Therefore, he emphasised that it was high time Batswana got influenced to appreciate local tourism packages and develop the interest to tour their country.

For his part, Serite who was codenamed Firebrand during the expedition, dismissed the notion that domestic travel was expensive, encouraging Batswana to budget for trips. 

“The response we received on social media after sharing memories of our travel diaries, revealed that Batswana did not know their country.

“Batswana might be willing to travel but they do not know potential tourism destinations around the country and therefore clueless of where to visit,” he added.

However he appreciated the reception they received form the villagers they traversed the country. Ends