By Surihe Gaomas
SOSSUSVLEI
President Hifikepunye Pohamba officially opened the first-ever world-class desert tourism destination lodge of Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), called Sossus Dune Lodge, in Sossusvlei on Saturday.
The opening of the N$13-million upscale lodge in the Namib Desert comes after the NWR undertook the groundbreaking building of the new lodge on September 15, 2006.
And nine months down the line, various dignitaries from government including Founding Father of the Nation Dr Sam Nujoma, the private sector and members of the diplomatic corps came to witness the official opening of the Sossus Dune Lodge – the first such type to be built by State-owned company NWR, since independence.
President Pohamba applauded NWR for its success in reviving its business strategy through strategic partnerships and striving to place the country’s tourism sector on the world map.
“Spending by foreign visitors has generated valuable hard currency for our country. We can therefore rightly say that for us, tourism is the goose that lays the golden egg … This new facility opens up new opportunities for travellers to experience the beautiful scenery and the open spaces that Namibia is endowed with,” said Pohamba.
The Head of State said that in light of the fact that tourism is growing at a rapid rate internationally with heightened competition, Namibia must come up with innovative and creative ways of offering efficient services to its visitors.
“It calls for the harnessing of new technologies and synergies to ensure that the Namibia tourism sector is on the world map internationally … You (NWR) must therefore ensure that all your visitors are served with a smile and with courtesy,” said Pohamba.
The Head of State was however quick to lash out at disturbing recent developments of criminal acts against tourists in the country, in which one German tourist was shot dead and robbed by two suspects.
“My government condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms … those who commit criminal acts will face the full wrath of the law … They (criminals) are enemies of economic growth and prosperity because attacks on our visitors are not only criminal, but also amount to economic sabotage. They undermine our nation-building efforts,” said Pohamba.
Situated in the heart of the Namib-Naukluft Park, over a stretch of 50 000 sq-km, the Sossus Dune Lodge was built in an environmentally sensitive manner mainly with wood canvas and thatch on elevated decks.
It consists of 23 desert chalets each with two beds, two honeymoon suites, a restaurant, bar and swimming pool. Other attractions and activities at the new lodge include sunset drives, guided nature drives, nature walks and stargazing.
At the same occasion, Minister of Environment and Tourism Willem Konjore said that due care was taken during the development of the new lodge to minimise environmental degradation. In view of this, Konjore sent out a warning to those who would transgress the environmental order.
“I wish to warn tourism companies operating on route to Sossusvlei and elsewhere that Government will not entertain the negative environmental impacts that are being experienced in Sossusvlei area,” he said.
Lately, Konjore said, he had been briefed about what he termed “unacceptable off-road drives” mainly by tour guides and private drivers. He therefore appealed to those who make use of this delicate area of desert not to cause any further environmental damage, but rather to use the landscape more sustainably.
Sossusvlei, known for its red sand dunes, is the second most visited tourist destination in Namibia after the Etosha National Park.
On his part, Managing Director of NWR Tobie Aupindi said that since the new lodge employs 50 first-time staff, especially from the San community who underwent training, the company is adding to the country’s developmental goal of Vision 2030.
“This is a very historic occasion as we have realised a dream to build an African style village-like lodge that embraces our heritage. With our turnaround strategy, we are therefore guided by NDP 2 and the SWAPO Party manifesto – so are we doing to reach Vision 2030,” he said.
At the same event, NWR was presented with a certificate by the Namibia Tourism Board marking its 188th lodge to be built in Namibia and ranked 1 298 as a world-class accommodation provider, registered in the country.