NTB launches new website to revive tourism

By Last updated Sep 12, 2022

Shifeta explained that currently Namibia is challenged to pull out all the stops to set the country apart from competitor destinations, noting that the website will be a pipeline activity to aggressively promote Namibia as a destination domestically and internationally. “Namibia as a tourism destination is competing with the rest of the world; online…

WINDHOEK, 10 AUG (NAMPA) – In an effort to revive the tourism industry, the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) on Wednesday launched a new website digital marketing campaign and foreign missions toolkit, focused on rebuilding consumer confidence to drive a swift travel recovery.

Launching the website in the capital, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, said the website, valued at N.dollars 350 000, is NTB’s marketing strategy aimed at deploying actionable initiatives earmarked to revive travel and tourism, which was hard hit by COVID-19.

“Namibia as a tourism destination is competing with the rest of the world; online presence is regarded as tourism infrastructure. Just as websites are essential, social media presence is a must and for Namibia to be properly represented online, the industry should be empowered and encouraged to engage more online to create a powerful tourism profile of the country,” he noted.

The new website’s features include improved interaction with potential visitors via various widgets that are integrated with the aim to drive traffic and re-engage existing visitors.

Equally, the website has been enriched with updated content and will serve as an authoritative source for providing current general country information about border crossing, foreign missions, national parks, major attractions, business directory, as well as a marketing toolkit, amongst others.

Speaking at the same event, NTB’s Chief Executive Officer, Digu //Naobeb, said NTB has been struggling to promote the country’s tourism potential due to limited budget, noting that the government only gave the entity N.dollars three million to carry out its mandate, which is not enough.

//Naobeb said NTB in 2020 collected N.dollars 800 million and in 2021 N.dollars 16 million was collected due to the COVID-19 impact, therefore, the website is an initiative to boost tourism presence, given that Namibia has scraped away all COVID-19 related measures.

“We have been relying heavily on our levy, however, due to COVID-19, we were struggling with the N.dollars three million which the government said is all they could give us without any bailouts. However, now tourism is picking up and as an entity, we need to be innovative and increase tourism presence again in the country,” he noted.

(NAMP)

LD/HP/EK