Francistown — Cresta Thapama Hotel has been refurbished at a cost of P20 million.

Speaking at the official opening of the new look hotel, Vice President Mompati Merafhe commended management for finding it necessary to give Cresta Thapama the much-needed facelift.

"These two events signify a great achievement by Cresta Marakanelo which is a subsidiary of the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) managed by the Cresta Hospitality Holdings. You may be aware that that the old Cresta brand reached its full useful life therefore needed to be reconfigured," said Merafhe.

He also said the end beneficiary in this relationship is the ordinary citizen of this country."Let me implore you to continue to ensure that you give onto Caesar what belongs to Caesar," he said.

"Given that tourism is trendy, tourists are always looking for better offerings and eager to test new ones , so it is critical that the industry should continuously innovate as well as offer strategic and competitive packages. It is also evident that the re-branding exercise far outweighs the cost incurred in this critical re-positioning exercise.

"As you may be aware, BDC which is a 60 percent shareholder in Cresta Marakanelo is an investment arm of the government of Botswana. This shows that the successes of Cresta Marakanelo in the form of dividends paid out to BDC find their way into the government coffers from which development plans are funded," said Merafhe.

Cresta Marakanelo board chairperson Maria Nthebolang said the brand is a promise and that that promise must be kept by giving customers good service.

"The P20 million that we injected into the refurbishment will ensure that Thapama Hotel becomes more competitive to other hotels. We saw the need to change our brand and give it an African feel," said Nthebolang.

Head of marketing Rusu Tairoodza added that the new brand is more than just the colour and identity. "We have re-affirmed our values such that we may provide excellent service with an African soul. We also value passion and integrity at Cresta in line with Botho/ respect," said Tairoodza.