Representatives of several tourist destinations among them India Tourism, Dubai Tourism and Namibia Tourism as well as some side service providers in the tourism industry showcased their packages at the expo. The expo gave exhibitors an opportunity to sell their products to the Botswana market and network with fellow industry players.
Despite a small population of only two million people, Botswana has been described as a niche market for tourism thanks to residents' love for holidaying and business trips. South Africa Tourism (SAT) revealed during the 2011 tourism week celebrations that over 800,000 Batswana visit South Africa every year. One of the exhibitors, Chantal Matthee, a representative of Namibia Tourism Board told Mmegi Business that they wanted to enhance the already growing interest of Batswana in travelling to Namibia. She said Botswana being a landlocked country, her people have travelled to the coastal part of Namibia, especially Swakopmund, a town very popular for holidaying in Botswana. She said they only started intensifying selling their product to Batswana recently following a fact-finding mission here earlier this year. She said Namibia is a very ideal destination for travellers with varying budgets as there are many interesting packages depending on the tourist's areas of interest.
