One of the country's social media and media personalities, Matlhare Matlhare has been invited to a tourism exchange programme at the behest of the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) that will see him learning and sharing experiences with other international influencers and exploring Namibian tourism.
Matlhare will this week join other social media influencers in Namibia on a tour, which will involve visiting the country’s tourism sites and sharing their experiences with their followers on social media.
NTB is showcasing its products and services to the world.
The influencers who are part of the programme will have their countries visited in an exchange project. Next year, the same influencers from as far as Asia are expected to descend on Botswana and visit this country’s tourism at the invitation of the Botswana Youth in Tourism Organisation which Matlhare is part of. Matlhare was chosen because of his social media presence and his being part of the Botswana Youth in Tourism Organisation. He also owns a travel and booking agency in Botswana.
Matlhare is a journalist who has been an English news reader for years.
Other social media influencers and journalists expected to join Matlhare were also a part of the Africa Tourism Partners and will share an exchange programme for countries affiliated with the association like the United Arab Emirates. According to the NTB: “Part of this programme includes press trips where the NTB invites news media and journalists from various source markets to raise awareness about Namibia and spread the latest information about the destination, Namibia, to these markets.” The media influencers or journalists will be on a fully sponsored programme to Namibia for seven days. Matlhare takes this invitation also as one of the members of the Botswana Youth in Tourism Organisation. “The Namibian Tourism Board has recently expressed interest to work with our organisation in a similar tourism exchange. We will soon see influencers descending on Botswana to showcase our tourism to the world in the next engagements,” Matlhare said. When in Namibia, Matlhare is expected to, among others, create awareness by promoting the destination through media (social and traditional media).
This will showcase Namibia tourism which is also targeting potential visitors from as far as the United Arab Emirates. Matlhare will be visiting most of Namibia's tourist attraction points and use social media to showcase them. Matlhare said the idea of the above-mentioned initiative started when he went to a tourism convention in Namibia.
"So while we were in Namibia recently, the Namibian Tourism Board expressed interest to work with us in tourism exchange. To bring former journalists and social media influencers on a trip through Namibia and on that trip share it with Batswana. Through media platforms and social media," he said. The exchange programme will end on November 22.
