Hotels fully booked ahead of Mascom Marathon

CALISTUS KOLANTSHO
Correspondent | Friday July 9, 2010 00:00

After failing to tap from the World Cup tournament, accommodation providers in this town had based all their hopes in the racing showpiece and they were not disappointed.

Speaking to BusinessWeek, Bosele Hotel General Manager, Nametsegang Seitshiro, explained that they are fully booked and they have even had to pass guests on to other accommodation providers in town.

They are also happy with bookings at Syringa Lodge and Travel Inn and are excited about the marathon that draws hundreds of people to Selebi-Phikwe each year.

Small businesses are also expected to benefit from the event because they will be given an opportunity to market and sell their products. The Public Relations Officer Selebi-Phikwe Town Council, who is also a member of the Local Organising Committee, revealed that a first-time aspect is that a flea market has been organised to coincide with the marathon.

Sean Chitsiga said the flea market was introduced after benchmarking with similar international events and realised that communities in Selebi-Phikwe and the region could benefit from the race and its legacy.

He appealed to business owners to market their businesses on the day and to bring marketing tools such as business cards, banners and flyers.

'The idea is not just to make money on the day,' Chitsiga said. 'People should be able to contact you afterwards if they are interested in your products.'

It is an opportunity for networking instead and tapping into the approximately 5,000 people from across Botswana and outside. Chitsiga said LOC would be on hand to assist businesspeople on the day. However, he warned people not to bring or exhibit products that compete with Mascom.

'Mascom is the sole sponsor of the marathon and they are the only communication company that will be allowed to brand as they like,' Chitsiga said. 'If you operate against that, you will be kept out of the flea market, and we do not want to see that happening.'