Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana, Hon Slumber Tsogwane, has cautioned against over-commercialising African cultural heritage products. He noted, “This can lead to the erosion of authenticity in the quest for a quick profit.”
Hon Tsogwane disclosed this during his speech at the official opening of the 6th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Award (ATLF), which was held on Wednesday at the Gaborone International Conference Centre in Gaborone, Botswana. The Theme of the forum was “Shifting demand dynamics to shape the future of intra-Africa Travel. ”
His words: “In as much as African cultural heritage products are a huge sell at international markets, one needs to caution against their over-commercialization. This can lead to the erosion of authenticity in the quest for quick profit. We have to ensure that our indigenous cultures are protected and preserved. Therefore, there is a need for us the African states to enact laws and policies geared towards protecting, conserving and preserving our cultural heritage for the sole benefit of our future generations.”
Hon Tsogwane disclosed that the Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi-led Government in Botswana has ratified the Protocol on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. “We have also achieved a major milestone in formally establishing the National Arts Council for the Creative Industries. I would encourage all our sister African countries to do likewise in recognition of the importance of the creative arts as a component of the tourism product mix.”
Describing creative Industries as businesses with creativity at their heart, and the generation and exploitation of knowledge and information as their primary objective, the Republic of Botswana Vice President said “Through the innovative development of creative industries, some more rhythm and vibrancy can be injected into our continent, leveraging on the comparative advantage that we have based on our rich and diverse African cultural heritage. Optimising the economic value of creative industries can therefore go a long way to enhance the image and visibility of Brand Africa and stimulate its demand in global markets.”
With specific regard to the tourism sector, Hon Tsogwane disclosed that the revised Tourism Policy of 2021 places some emphasis on Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) as a strategy for tourism product diversification to position Botswana as a MICE destination. “So far, I am reasonably pleased with our success concerning three of the MICE components namely Meetings, Conferencing and Exhibitions.”
He, however, said that “the Incentive aspect of MICE is the one part that is somewhat behind and we need to do more to develop it. The facilitative of the Aviation industry and media partners is fundamentally critical. We need airlines from Africa to traverse through African Space. We also need our media to champion our course as Africa. I urge the airline industry and media to raise their hands and be counted for the success of our MICE Strategy.”
In driving the MICE initiative, Hon Tsogwane noted that Botswana has successfully hosted three international events this year alone, which according to him included the 73rd session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa, the US-Africa Business Summit, and the Forbes Under 30 Summit.
“On the supply side, some new hotels and conference facilities have been opened during the last five years, thereby increasing the country’s capacity to host international conferences and events. Our government is concluding the development of the MICE Strategy which is intended to be launched later this year. As a country, we take this opportunity to invite investors across the globe to engage and collaborate with us to develop more accommodation and conferencing facilities further,” Hon Tsogwane revealed.
The Republic of Botswana Vice President then lauded the efforts of the organisers of the ATLF, all the stakeholders who made the initiative a success, and all the participants in the ATLF 2023. He also commended the leadership of the Botswana Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the private sector for bringing the 6th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum with renowned industry stakeholders to Botswana.
