Okavango Tour Operator Scoops Award

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Monday May 10, 2010 00:00

 

The company which owns the Macatoo Camp in the Delta,  was selected by over 450 independent  tour operators  who gave their views on the most outstanding  lodges in over 15 categories.

In an interview, African Horseback executive, Riana  Fourie said they were thrilled to have won the  award, which falls under the Good Safari Guide Awards,  for the second year  running.

'We won this Award  in 2009 and we are very excited about winning it again  this year. I believe it shows the confidence that  the market has in our company and hopefully if we continue to  perform well, we might win it again  in the future,' she said.

Established in 1995, the Macatoo camp is situated on the western side of the Delta covering 17000 square kilometres and it specialises in Horse riding Safari.

The Good Safari Guide Award this year saw South Africa  and Kenya taking home five trophies each with  Rwanda winning an award for the first time.

Makgadikgadi-based Jack's Camp scooped four awards, including Best Safari Camp in Africa, at the 2009 Tourism Indaba while in 2008 five Botswana-based tourism-related services providers which include Phakalane Golf Estate and, Department of Wildlife, scooped several awards.

At this year's event, Botswana companies however missed out on the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award  (ETEYA) which were also held on Friday with three South African Companies walking away with the trophies.

Speaking at the ETEYA Awards ceremony, South Africa Minister of Tourism , Marthinus van Schalkkyk commended the winners  for their contribution  to the vibrancy and authenticity of destination South Africa.  He said that showing innovation and service excellence were important  factors in growing  the tourism industry.

Forty-two Botswana tourism operators, including the Botswana Tourism Board, are  participating in this year's South Africa's Tourism Indaba, in which over 1, 600 companies are exhibiting.

This year's show has attracted massive interest from all over the world as it comes just a month before the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with over 12, 000 visitors attending.

The Tourism Indaba is owned by South African Tourism and organised by Kagiso Exhibitions and Events. A total of 1, 598 companies participated in the 2009 event. For two years in a row, the Tourism Indaba has won the Association of World Travel Awards---Africa's Best Travel and Tourism Show award.

This year, the Tourism Indaba will host approximately 12,000 international visitors from the trade, media and consumer sectors and is expected to be the principal communications platform in the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

SA Tourism has been running a campaign called Welcome, which is aimed at encouraging citizens to give visitors a good impression when coming into their country.

The 2010 Indaba started on Saturday and will end tomorrow (Tuesday).