During the recent World Tourism Commemoration in Maun, Botswana, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Nonofo Molefhi said digital technologies aided the promotion of effectiveness in the tourism sector, urging stakeholders to embrace digital technology.

He mentioned that digital technology had the potential to further advance the sector in Botswana, as technology provided opportunities for innovation and, in turn, provided the sector with a chance to alter its business model.

Molefhi added: “I therefore urge the tourism sector to fully embrace these technologies to bring about efficiency and effectiveness of their business operations," reports Botswana Daily News.

Digital technologies help with a reliable communication flow, according to the Minister, saying that it was an asset for marketing purposes in the tourism industry.

Some of the changes should be spearheaded by tourism stakeholders, as government was currently experiencing challenges with regard to funds, said Molefhi.

According to the Minister, the country is anticipating an easing of the visa application system, which will help remove barriers for travellers.

However, according to Molefhi, this requires the country to have a resourceful system that will avail of individual background checks to avoid compromising the security of Botswana while facilitating business.

Kedirebofe Pelontle from Botswana Daily News reported that Molefhi also noted that the Cabinet was discussing various ways to optimise the country’s benefit within the tourism sector, which involves all bookings being done locally and not in other states, as has been the case.

Furthermore, he said the tourism sector was critical to Botswana’s economy as it had created job opportunities and contributed to revenue.

Citing the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), Molefhi said it had shown improvement with regard to the performance of the tourism sector compared with the 2009 results. Internal tourism expenditure sat at P14.5 billion (€1.2bn) in 2016 compared with P5.8 billion (€474m) in 2009.