Tourism set to generate P3,25bn in 2012

Staff Writer | Friday March 16, 2012 00:00

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is the foremost research and statistics organisation on tourism, conducting annual economic assessments on 181 countries around the world.WTTC's annual Economic Impact Reports analyse historic performance and provide projections for tourism and travel economic indicators over a 10-year period. For Botswana, the reports are critical as local statistics bodies do not compute travel and tourism earnings, jobs and/or economic impact in their research.

Released last week, the WTTC's Economic Impact Report 2012 for Botswana projects that travel and tourism activities directly contribute P3,25 billion to Botswana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year. The report reads:'This primarily reflects the economic activity generated by industries such as hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services, excluding commuter services. But it also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.'

According to WTTC, travel and tourism activities contributed P3,01 billion to the economy last year, narrowly missing the council's original estimate of P3,1 billion made in March 2011.Researchers for this year's report estimate that tourist arrivals in Botswana will reach 2,374 million in 2012, with the visitors collectively spending approximately P6.5 billion. Known as visitor exports, the spending includes both business and leisure trips by tourists, as well as spending on transport.

The industry's stronger performance in 2012 will be supported by government's massive infrastructure investment programme that has seen billions pumped into expanding and modernising the country's airports. In addition, government has also invested heavily in expanding both electricity generation and the national grid, as well as growing the road network and decentralising government functions to tourism areas. In this regard, BURS recently announced that it would open a regional office in Kasane, which is the gateway to the tourism belt. BURS was previously present only in Maun, its headquarters for the northwest region.

According to WTTC, the travel and tourism industry in Botswana directly accounted for 18,500 jobs in 2011, with these forecast to grow by 9.8 percent this year to 20,500.  Says the reports:'This includes employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.'Employment figures in travel and tourism will this year be boosted by the recent opening of the 80-room Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort and the 82-room Travelodge, both in Gaborone.

In addition, RDC Properties will soon launch its 153-room Lansmore Hotel in the Gaborone CBD, while Cresta Marakanelo continues construction of 65-room Cresta Mahalapye.WTTC president and CEO, David Scowsill, said the global travel and tourism industry would leverage off growth in emerging economies to fight off the effects of the economic slowdown in the US and the Euro zone.'While the macroeconomic environment remains very challenging, our latest projections point to continuous growth in the contribution of travel and tourism to global GDP and employment,' he said.

'Rising household incomes in emerging economies will continue to fuel increased leisure demand. Similarly, growing international trade - particularly from emerging markets - will sustain business travel demand.' Scowsill said in developed economies, consumers were likely to remain cautious, especially in European countries where austerity programmes are being implemented.