Namibia Tourism Expo underscores SADC aims
The wait is over! The Tourism Expo kicks off at the Windhoek Country Club this afternoon.
As the main organiser of the annual Namibia Tourism Expo, Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) has always been keen to approach tourism as the one sector that can most easily transcend man-made borders, effectively uniting the efforts and goals set by affiliations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC).SADC has recently refocused its efforts to find ways in which transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) can be better utilised for the greater good of not only the specific countries these TFCAs are in but to the region as a whole. This is aimed at aligning the region to the original aims – including the promotion of inter-regional tourism – of the TFCAs.
In promoting tourism, NMH has always followed that concept under the guise of '10 Degrees South', which is why the theme for the 2024 expo is, like last year, 'Beyond Borders'.
The Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) has been selected as the first TFCA that fully lives up to the original idea, and this is why it will be the first conservation area that serves as the expo's focus.
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, /Ai -/Ais Richtersveld TFCA and the Iona Skeleton Coast TFCA will follow in coming years, and the expo will be sure to find interesting topics to be discussed at the seminars that form part of its morning programmes before the doors are opened to the public in the afternoons.
The long-awaited 2024 Namibia Tourism Expo kicks off today at 15:00 at the Windhoek Country Club Resort, with tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta officiating. Doors will open at 16:00 for members of the public, and will close at 21:00. Day 1's festivities will end at 22:00.