Martin Nyirenda
2 April 2008
The Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC) has embraced viable initiatives tailored to foster increased and improved service provision in the tourism sector.
This effort is being achieved through the engagement of business leaders in the sector to address hurdles impeding productivity. A BNPC Tourism Sector breakfast seminar held last week recommended that a standing committee or networking seminar be revived and that a united product development strategy be instituted. The seminar also noted that an enabling environment with good road networks and reliable telephone lines is paramount to ensuring that business thrives and that partnerships among stakeholders from both the public and private sectors are strengthened.
Speaking at the seminar in Gaborone, BNPC information and research services manager, Dabilani Buthali, said dialogue among leaders in the sector is critical to drive sustainable growth through productivity.
"If we are to provide services in the tourism sector, we need to interrogate the manner in which services are delivered to our clients, both current and prospective," Buthali said. "In improving productivity and competitiveness in the industry, leaders in industry should seek to be the best. That calls for study tours or missions, attachments and forms of benchmarking exercises. Through various services and interventions offered by our departments and programmes, we are able to assist in areas like service quality and customer-related products and services."
The seminar was told that Botswana is facing several challenges, which affect the national competitiveness and these included labour utilisation, inefficiency in government, an inadequately educated workforce as well as access to finance.
The participants were also informed that there is need for partnership among all stakeholders in the tourism sector, adding that organisational transformation through productivity is necessary.
Buthali said BNPC is committed to continuously interrogating the scheme in which service delivery is provided, adding that it is paramount to ponder ways to address issues as well as deliberate policies that affect productivity in the workplace.
The seminar attracted stakeholders from various sectors and effectively identified areas of possible collaboration with BNPC. The seminar deliberated and reached an agreement on priority areas to meet the sector's productivity needs and challenges, adding that BNPC should be geared to offer the necessary interventions to entrench a culture of competitiveness and productivity in the tourism sector.
BNPC Productivity and Quality Manager, Kgosinkwe Moesi, said the centre would continue to play the role of the lead catalyst in ensuring the sector contributed to Botswana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Senior Research Consultant, Phumzile Magagula-Thobokwe, disclosed that the tourism and travel industry had the potential to provide opportunities to alleviate poverty and foster job creation.
"The economy needs to diversify from diamonds and government spending," she said. "Productivity growth has been slowing down and lagging behind. Long-term economic growth has been on a slowdown and the overall country's international competitiveness is not holding up to competition." Magagula-Thobokwe pointed out that drivers of the tourism and travel industry's competitiveness included policy rules and regulations, environmental sustainability, safety and security, health and hygiene. She called for continuous improvement to ensure productivity in the sector is entrenched for the benefit of national economic diversification.
Magagula underlined that poor work ethics and lack of skilled human resource was among some of the challenges facing the country on the whole and invariably affecting productivity in the tourism and travel industry, adding that human resource- related challenges continue to contribute to the slump in competitiveness.
The CEO of HATAB and seminar participant, Morongwa Ntloedibe-Disele, called for the overhauling of some institutional processes in order to improve service delivery. She acknowledged the importance of skills development among stakeholders who normally come face-to-face with tourists. She supported the notion to diversify the product base in the sector.
The Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Rapelang Mojaphoko and the Senior National Resources Officer in the Department of Environmental Affairs Kwashirai Chigodora shared similar sentiments on engaging the leadership from both the private and public sectors to drive the diversification of the sector, adding that a conducive political climate favoured Botswana to be the best tourism destination. It was noted that the country should step up productivity to ensure that it benefits from the offerings of the 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.
The Gaborone Taxi and Buses Association Vice Secretary, Edison Tlhomelang, said plans are already underway to ensure that the fleet of public transport is improved to meet the demand of the travelling public during the World Cup. The Tourism Investment Executive of the Botswana Tourism Board, Tata Tata, said the event helped the participants to incorporate issues that bring about productivity.
Tata pointed out that the seminar would facilitate close working relations between his organisation and other relevant authorities to further develop the travel and tourism sector.
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