KEETMANSHOOP – Community-Based Tourism Enterprises in the //Kharas region can only be revived to their full income-generating potential if the various stakeholders engage each other on mutually-agreed terms.
This is how Florence Karita, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) chief warden for community-based natural resources’ management, advised communities in charge of these facilities during a tourism information-sharing session at the Keetmanshoop Agricultural and Industrial Trade Expo (KAITE) last week.
“All these campsites (Brukaros, Warmbad and Kanikobes, to mention but just a few) were previously renovated and upgraded by the line ministry, and handed over to the respective communities to manage and earn a living from them through tourism opportunities. But today, they are in a dilapidated state, as these beneficiaries were unwilling to take ownership,” she remarked worriedly.
Karita said feasibility studies were carried out as a result of this, whereby one of the solutions was to find investors who could form joint ventures with these communities on how to make these sites profitable again.
“For the #Nudi campsite, an amount of N$1 million has been provided, after which requests for proposals were sent out for possible investors to come on board and revamp the camping site. However, all received were not conforming to the criteria,” the chief warden noted. Karita also bemoaned the fact that community members, who are supposed to own these tourism facilities, are stealing materials and equipment from them.
“These campsites belong to you, and government’s role is to assist you in developing them to profitability,” she reminded the community.
Speaking from the perspective of a private tourism operator, Berend Roemer, the owner of Banhoff Hotel at Aus, said in order to be successful in this industry, there are many other factors to look at.
“You cannot decide to build a lodge today without doing proper planning first, as it won’t be operating long before closing down,” he emphasised. He continued that one first needs to do proper marketing and research, as well as establish whether customers will be attracted to the business to make a success of it. “The other great setback in this industry is that many ideas in the end become political pipedreams, instead of practical realities. That is thus another factor to consider in making the tourism fraternity sustainable,” he observed.
Johanna Matthys, residing in the #Nudi campsite area, questioned why government is afraid to hand over the facility to them. “If we have no ownership over it, and also the fact that we are not trusted with the funds allocated, how will we ever benefit from our own resources?” she probed. Matthys said they have been struggling for more than a year to get the campsite reopened.
Suggestions offered by the audience were for community members to be trained in business and financial management, and for requests for proposals to be forwarded to the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board.
– sklukowski@nepc.com.na