The second Local Tourism is Lekker (LTIL) SADC Expo and Networking Event is scheduled for 28 to 30 October this year at Swakopmund.
Established in 2020, the expo is aimed at providing a non-profit opportunity to tourism suppliers to showcase and market their services to SADC tourists.
A media release issued by LTIL founder Yvonne von Holtz on Wednesday revealed that the expo has so far attracted over 20 000 members.
“The platform is aimed at a wide range of tourism service suppliers to showcase their services to the local and SADC market, for local and SADC travellers to access affordable tourism offers,” Von Holtz said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travellers, which inevitably gave rise to the need for reassessments, strategising and supportive cooperation.
“With this in mind, we are inviting tourism businesses to use this platform as a central hub to connect with customers and distribute rates,” she added.
Von Holtz noted that when developed in a meaningful way, domestic tourism is a sustainable and complementary way to international tourism and offers destinations an exceptional platform for year-round tourism economy growth and development.
“Domestic tourism is part of a general trend towards a more sustainable local tourism and most importantly visitors have a better knowledge of the socio-cultural environment. The development of a domestic tourism industry offers the opportunity to generate a more diverse and economically sustainable tourism industry. Additionally, it is an educational process for the environment since it plays an important role in influencing public viewpoints,” Von Holtz stressed.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; Namibia Tourism Board; Tour and Safari Association and Emerging Tourism Enterprises Association are among some of the confirmed participants.
A general networking event will also be held on 29 October, in order for members of the entire tourism sector to exchange ideas and strategies amongst each other.
The event will take place at Atlantic Villa Boutique Guesthouse.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
