Youth Company Promotes Sustainable Tourism Development
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday July 31, 2017 18:00
According to the company’s director, Thelma Eyman, this project is aimed at encouraging students who are studying tourism to come up with their own initiatives, which they can pursue after completing their studies to create employment rather than wait to be employed.
“The ‘Noble Tourism Ambassador’ targets students pursuing tourism and related studies from various tertiary training institutions as well as graduates of tourism studies who are unemployed,” she said.
Through this, Eyman said they intend to expose participants to the authenticity of the tourism sector and create for them a platform for liaison intended for future corporate relations adding that the competition also aims at promoting sustainable development, sustainable tourism and conversation in Botswana.
The competition, which had about eight entries, was won by Danica Langeveldt from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology going and Tumo Tselayakgosi from ABM University.
“These ladies really outdid others, and I was impressed with the projects they came up with as they brought brilliant ideas that endorsed eco-tourism, bee-tourism, just to mention but a few,” she said.
As part of their tasks, she said the women would have to market Botswana as a tourism destination as well as sustainable development.
Some of the initiatives would include opening a Setswana cuisine restaurant that will promote different cultures.
In addition, they will host a tourism enlightenment dinner with tourism students and graduates to share ideas on how they can combine their ideas to come up with projects that could create employment in the process.
The competition entailed an educative awareness programme designed to promote sustainable and experiential learning of tourism through applying attained knowledge and tutor skills to enrich key competences such as entrepreneurial skills, team skills and generic skills.
“It is an initiative also designed to foster business ventures created by its finalists to have a hand in the diversification of the tourism sector. For a team, it is more resourceful than one man’s operation,” she said.
Further she noted that in future the competition shall target out of school youth from secondary school levels including BGCSE and junior schools.
“Our mission is to be an educational interface and consultant to training institutions in order to bridge the gap between theoretical learning provided by institutions and the realness of the industry thereby equipping students with hands-on experience.
We currently act as a consultant to different organisations in the industry by enhancing their employees’ professional skills and knowledge as well.”