'Tourism is our next diamonds'
Larona Makhaiza | Wednesday April 30, 2025 06:00
Diamond sales have plummeted in Botswana in recent years leading to a rescind in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country resulting in an economic crises. As a way to resuscitate the economy and identify more stable sectors to contribute towards the country’s economy, industry leaders have picked tourism as the plausible solution to the discourse. Speaking at the ongoing annual HATAB conference, HATAB chairperson, Joe Motse stated that Botswana has lagged behind in diversifying the tourism industry. He indicated that it is high-time people realised that the tourism industry is not only restricted to wild animals and game drives, it runs deep.
“We haven't done well in diversifying our tourism sector. We have realised that we mostly focus on the wildlife part of it but we can also explore other avenues like culture,” he said. Motse further stated that it is high-time Botswana switches its priorities from naturals as recent times have proven that diamonds are no longer in demand as previously were, due to the rise of synthetics. “Diamonds aren't forever, let's utilise this sector, let's explore it to diversify it. This is the industry that can do it for us,” he said.
Motse also called for better infrastructure, particularly roads to make it easy for tourists to reach the tourism destinations without any impediments that might irk them. Industry leaders also called players to move away from the northern concentration and highlighted that tourism is not only in the Okavango Delta and Chobe. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was identified as one of the tourism destinations that is constantly overlooked though it offers a great escape for tourism.