Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) has announced the cancellation of the annual Namibia Tourism Expo scheduled to take place in November, in efforts to support Government’s vaccination rollout through its platforms.

A media statement issued Thursday by NMH Public Relations Executive Maggy Mbako said the tourism sector is one of those hardest hit by the pandemic. She said the decision to withdraw the expo was taken in order to rally behind the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ (MoHSS) efforts to get more Namibians vaccinated, through assisting the ministry to set up more vaccination centres across the country.

Approached for comment on Friday, Mbako said their assistance will amongst others include the identification of vaccination venues, administration and the provision of refreshments to health personnel at the centres.

“We have not measured the monetary value of our assistance yet because our plan is for the long term. We are still looking at other venues to distribute vaccination centres across the country,” she said.

The statement indicated that this is the first time the expo is cancelled in 23 years as there is a need to join hands to make Namibia a safer destination for tourists by having one million Namibians vaccinated by the beginning of the next tourism season in 01 September 2022.

Thus far, NMH has secured a vaccination centre in Windhoek through the ministry.

The vaccination centre at the Dutch Reformed Church in Eros is fully operational and open to the public, while another site has already been identified at Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region.

The statement also indicated that the initiative is being carried out by NMH in collaboration with the Namibia Tourism Board, health ministry, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Fenata.

The expo is a platform for Namibia’s hospitality industry to promote and market their products and services to all involved in the industry, as well as the general public.

Source: Namibia Press Agency