Page 8 - Meetings Botswana 2024 FINAL

8 Meetings Botswana 2024
I am delighted to welcome readers to the second issue of Meetings Botswana, our guide to
meetings, incentives, conferences and the exhibitions sector across the country.
MICE, as it is often referred to, has become the very foundation of business tourism
worldwide; bringing visitors from different industries to foster connections, promote new ideas,
and encourage growth. It is our aspiration that these four pillars will increasingly become the new catalyst to
the growth of Botswana’s tourism industry, further strengthening the role that leisure tourism has played so well
through the years.
At the moment, leisure tourism contributes the bulk of the travel and tourism spending in the country,
making tourism the second contributor to the country’s economy after minerals. Government, through the
Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) is keen to diversify away from diamonds, by growing largely untapped
sectors like MICE to augment the important role that tourism plays so well in the country’s economy. By
partnering and engaging the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana and other stakeholders, we are
confident that this can be realized.
As noted in the proposed budget speech earlier this year, the Government of Botswana led by His Excellency
The President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi has committed to positioning the country as a world class
hub for MICE, building on recent international events. Just last year, the country has hosted major events,
such as the US-Africa Business Summit, the Kusi ideas Festival, African Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF),
Botswana Tourism Investment Summit and Forbes under 30 African Summit. Botswana was also the setting
for the 73rd Session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee for Africa, and the Eastern and
Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group Council of Ministers meeting. Tourism development is
an integral part of Botswana’s economic growth and development plan. As a result, Government is keen to
extensively upgrade the road network around large settlements to position the urban areas as event hubs, and
replicate these effort in other areas across the country in subsequent years, according to the proposed 2024/5
budget.
Government is also committed to ensuring that the aspirations of the Tourism Policy of 2021 are attained,
driven by the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy and Master Plan. The development of
infrastructure in the Kasane-Kazungula tourism and other such areas is a priority. Two entrance gates at Khawa
and Tsetseng are other efforts to improve infrastructure in protected areas for tourist attraction purposes, and
new tourism sites will be made available to support tourism land ownership by citizens in the Kasane-Kazungula
Tourism area. These are some of the projects aimed to grow the MICE sector by positioning Botswana as an
attractive place to hold international meetings, conference and exhibitions and further boost the country as
a tourist destination. It is my desire that this publication will go a long way to promote such initiatives and
promote the country as a pristine destination for leisure and business tourism.”
Keitumetse Setlang
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Botswana Tourism Organisation
W E L C O M E