FNB talks of collaboration within the tourism sector
By Michel Haoses.
FNB Commercial Bank hosted a Tourism Talk event on Tuesday under the theme “Shaping Namibia’s tourism future, together” to promote collaboration within the sector.
FNB Head of Enterprise Banking Connie-Marlene Theyse in her opening remarks shared some facts about the sector tourism sector which is the fastest growing sector that employs over 100,000 Namibians, especially from rural areas.
She further noted that regional, domestic, and international passenger flight numbers had reached their highest in 2023 since 2019 indicating a recovery in travel, expressing excitement as Namibia will be hosting the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) and AviaDev Africa.
Martin Bowen, director and co-founder of Ultimate Safaris who was also a guest speaker highlighted on the importance of guarding against over-exposure to famous Namibian spots especially when unprecedented tourism growth is expected.
He further advocated for underutilised areas such as the western parts of Etosha National Park, some parts of Skeleton Coast, Luderitz, the Sperrgebiet, and the Zambezi region adding that all stakeholders in the Namibian tourism sector needed to accept the value of tourism and open their minds to the numerous new possibilities available.
Another guest speaker was Barry Clemens Chief Executive of Hospitality EQ, chairman for AYTIS, and international speaker from Kenya who in his keynote address emphasised on the contribution tourism has made to the national GDP, occupancy, and arrival recovery.
Clemens also shared his view on the challenges faced by the tourism sector that include, infrastructure, capacity, and marketing stating that Namibia needs to do more to promote the country and its unique attractions as the world views Namibia as desert and wildlife.
Chief Executive of Hospitality EQ and chairman for AYTIS Barry Clemens, director and co-founder of Ultimate Safaris Martin Bowen, FNB Head of Enterprise Banking Connie-Marlene Theyse, and FNB Namibia Economist Helena Mboti.
