Dr Matthias Ngwangwama
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has brought many things to the surface. One glaring feature that the pandemic has exposed is that the world, in general, and Namibia, in particular, are still far from reaching the promised land.
People are still wandering in the desert and many will die of poisonous snakes and thirst in the desert. Only posterity will, possibly, live in the promised land.
The best those of us who are currently living can do is to plant seeds, the fruits of which will be eaten by those who will reach and live in the promised land.
The divide between the rich and the poor is more conspicuous than ever.
Similarly, the divide between those with understanding and those who lack understanding has been best exposed by Covid-19. The pandemic exposed that the world in general and Namibia, in particular, are not ready for change.
Nations and countries are not willing to let go of entrenched convenience, hence the difficulty in adapting to new ways and to change amidst Covid-19. For instance, vaccine hesitancy might be a symptom of inability to change and to let go of accustomed convenience and comfort.
Similarly, the acrimonious debates in the tourism industry might be a symptom of inability to let go of convenience, norms, traditions and prejudices.
Letting go of norms, traditions and prejudices can come about with sufficient dialogue and debates in the country. It appears that social dialogue has been lacking in Namibia for the past 31 years, hence the hesitancy and acrimonious debates raging on various topics.
What are the topical debates in Namibian tourism currently? There are mainly two major debates, which crystallise into two groupings, referred to as worlds in this article. The first world comprises the tourism elders, scribes and “Pharisees”; those who continuously oppose any attempt at reforming and introducing new ideas following the outbreak of Covid-19. Those in this world regard themselves as the spiritual fathers of the industry who know everything about the industry.
This group consists of traditionalists who desire to keep the industry “as before”. New entrants are seen as threats, intruders and impostors, not role players. Clearly, this group of tourism elders is uninterested in reforming the industry or introducing new ways, mindsets or welcoming role players in the industry.
They are hell-bent on keeping the industry “pure” as before. They firmly believe that local and regional tourism is miniscule and unimportant and that international tourism (implying travellers from the USA and continental Europe) is “where the money come from”.
As we have learnt through Covid-19, this type of thinking can be dangerous and might explode one day as many perceive it as using the attractiveness of Namibia for tourism for selfish purposes. The other world, or grouping, in the Namibian tourism industry, comprises those who want to introduce new ways and mindsets, particularly to mitigate and counter the effects of the pandemic. In other words, a group of reformists.
This group envisages an inclusive Namibian tourism industry in which everyone who wants to be involved can find a space within. Those who want to see the natural resources of Namibia being used to benefit the greatest good for the greatest number.
The need to develop domestic and regional tourism is also paramount to this group’s worldview. The group wants information about the industry to be readily available to anyone.
The convergence of traditionalists and reformists is creating tensions in the Namibian Tourism Industry. How then can these tensions be mitigated? Answers to this question are not straightforward.
The tensions could be mitigated by both groups embracing the benefits that Covid-19 might have introduced and imposed, such as an opportunity for reform and reimaging.
The pandemic might be an opportunity to restructure how the tourism sector interacts with our societies, other sectors of the economy, natural resources and ecosystems, to ensure a fair distribution and advance a resilient and sustainable tourism industry going forward.
Pride is hampering progress in the Namibian tourism industry.
Unless there is to be an open, honest and transparent dialogue about key impediments affecting the industry in the wake of Covid-19, the acrimonious and unproductive tensions in the Namibian tourism industry will continue.
Everyone will persist with their worldview, thus, no progress will be witnessed. Almost two years into the pandemic, the time is now to start to robustly stimulate the tourism sector, in particular regional and local tourism by creating platforms to meaningfully dissect these issues and chart the way forward for the sake of the country’s economy and its citizens.
* The author is a Namibian business management academic and practitioner. He is the Managing Director of Namibia Wildlife Resorts Limited (NWR) but writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed in this article are his own abstractions. This article was inspired by the palpable divisions and tensions in the Namibian tourism industry as observed in daily discourses and viewpoints on pertinent matters such as mandatory vaccinations and leadership reforms at industry umbrella body level (FENATA).