Namibia Tourism Expo truly goes ‘beyond borders’
The Namibia Tourism Expo 2023 ended on a high note on Friday evening in Windhoek – serving as a good curtain-raiser for the long weekend.
While the sudden downpour last week forced expo visitors into the halls on Thursday evening, Friday made up for lost time - with exhibitors who were part of the Windhoek City Market able to host the crowd that had gathered for the Town of the Year winner announcement as well as the launch of the Republikein bridal competition.
“It was a perfect occasion to introduce our products and services. Even though we sold a lot of products, our main aim was to host the visitors and have them taste our wines and get to know our products in general. In that regard, I am more than satisfied,” Jürgen Cronje, CEO of Komnik & Franck - which was awarded the editor’s choice award by Tourismus Namibia and ended up being voted the stand of the year by expo visitors – said.
Sixty stands were made available to exhibitors, while another 24 formed part of the market.
The expo opened from 16:00 to 22:00 each day, which seemed a welcome change for exhibitors who used the hours to take care of normal business, while many others chose to attend the various seminars hosted between 11:00 and 16:00 each day.
The expo has always focused on quality rather than quantity, and organiser Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) considers the 4 281 visitors reasonable. Further, live seminars and online coverage added significant value for exhibitors and online visitors alike.
Rundown
The first day saw a talk on youth in tourism taking place, while a session about how conservancies are run in Namibia was also held. British High Commissioner to Namibia Charles Moore spoke about Namibian tourism from the point of view of the visitor.
On Friday, interesting takes were highlighted when personalities such as Gys Joubert of the Gondwana Collection looked at internships for tourism students and what can be done in terms of social responsibility intervention.
Meanwhile, Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller touched on how sport can positively impact tourism and the economy, while the environment ministry’s Seimy Christoph-Shidute looked at transfrontier tourism.
The next expo has been scheduled for 24 to 26 April 2024 – again from Wednesday to Friday.
While the sudden downpour last week forced expo visitors into the halls on Thursday evening, Friday made up for lost time - with exhibitors who were part of the Windhoek City Market able to host the crowd that had gathered for the Town of the Year winner announcement as well as the launch of the Republikein bridal competition.
“It was a perfect occasion to introduce our products and services. Even though we sold a lot of products, our main aim was to host the visitors and have them taste our wines and get to know our products in general. In that regard, I am more than satisfied,” Jürgen Cronje, CEO of Komnik & Franck - which was awarded the editor’s choice award by Tourismus Namibia and ended up being voted the stand of the year by expo visitors – said.
Sixty stands were made available to exhibitors, while another 24 formed part of the market.
The expo opened from 16:00 to 22:00 each day, which seemed a welcome change for exhibitors who used the hours to take care of normal business, while many others chose to attend the various seminars hosted between 11:00 and 16:00 each day.
The expo has always focused on quality rather than quantity, and organiser Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) considers the 4 281 visitors reasonable. Further, live seminars and online coverage added significant value for exhibitors and online visitors alike.
Rundown
The first day saw a talk on youth in tourism taking place, while a session about how conservancies are run in Namibia was also held. British High Commissioner to Namibia Charles Moore spoke about Namibian tourism from the point of view of the visitor.
On Friday, interesting takes were highlighted when personalities such as Gys Joubert of the Gondwana Collection looked at internships for tourism students and what can be done in terms of social responsibility intervention.
Meanwhile, Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller touched on how sport can positively impact tourism and the economy, while the environment ministry’s Seimy Christoph-Shidute looked at transfrontier tourism.
The next expo has been scheduled for 24 to 26 April 2024 – again from Wednesday to Friday.
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