News / Press Release
Southern Africa Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference 2013 Postponed
07 Dec 2013 at 22:30hrs | Views
POSTPONEMENT OF THE REGIONAL TOURISM ORGANISATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA ARTS FESTIVAL AND CONFERENCE 2013
The Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA) wishes to announce that the Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference, planned to be hosted in Malawi on 12 and 13 December 2013 at the Bingu International Conventional Centre has been postponed. This was due to reasons beyond our control. RETOSA will now run this event to be hosted by the Government of Namibia at a date which will be communicated in due course.
However, the inaugural Youth in Tourism Essay Competition which was supposed to run concurrently with the Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference was held on Friday 6 December 2013 on a boat cruise in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The Youth in Tourism Essay Competition has been running from August and the deadline for submission was 30 November 2013. The Youth in Tourism Essay Competition was a side event to the Southern Africa Research Planners Conference at Seaside Hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia.
Participants of the essay competition were drawn from the Fifteen SADC countries namely Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Out of the 15 countries, six students qualified for the finals and these were:
Kefiloe Motjetje aged 13 from Lesotho
Tsholofelo Tsheto aged 12 from Botswana
William T. Zenda aged 12 from Zimbabwe
The above qualified in level 1 (primary schools) and the topic for the essay was" Why tourist attractions in my country are the best in the world"
Finalists for Category 2 were: Iyanvwa Kankinda aged 12 from Zambia
Taloshili Olavi Hangula aged 15 from Namibia
Mbako Muzila aged 14 from Botswana
The above qualified in level 2 (secondary schools) and the topic for the essay was "What my government should do to turn my country into the best green tourism destination in the world".
The 6 SADC regional finalists each made an oral presentation of their essays before a panel of judges. Tsholofelo Tsheto, a grade 7 pupil from Mpani/ Magapatona Primary School in Botswana was crowned Deputy Southern Africa Tourism Minister 2014, while Taloshili Olavi Hangula, grade 10 student at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School, Windhoek, Namibia was crowned Southern Africa Junior Tourism Minister. Their term of office will run until the next Youth in Tourism Essay Competitionand elections for the new office bearers for 2015. In addition to that, the Junior Tourism Minister walked away with a lap top while the Deputy from primary school level won an I-Pad. The other four participants got cellphones and all the prizes were sponsored by Kwela Fleet. The Managing Director of Kwela Fleet flew all the way from South Africa to hand over the prizes to the winners.
The theme of the essay competition for 2013 was "Turning Southern Africa into A Competitive Green Tourism Destination".
Strategic Objectives for the Youth In Tourism Essay Competition
1. To facilitate the mainstreaming of tourism into the education system across the region;
2. To help school children to understand all the natural and cultural tourism resources available, their value and contribution to the economy, hence the need to conserve them;
3. To create awareness of business creating entrepreneurship mentality to the youth at an early age;
4. To create awareness on the importance of sustainable tourism;
5. To enlighten the youth on the importance of being tourists in their own countries as a way of promoting domestic tourism;
6. To promote regional integration and a Southern Africa, single destination vision among the youth.
Justification
The basis of this project is premised on the understanding and belief that real sustainability and competitiveness of tourism development in Southern Africa can be achieved by involving the youth in all aspects of the industry including:
• Nurturing tourism entrepreneurship among the youth;
• Establishing suitable tourism structures and platforms for scholars at national and regional level.
• Targeted capacity building programs for youth in tourism.
• To prepare the youth for the global tourism stage.
• Nurturing the youth to be tourists in their own countries and region.
In conclusion, RETOSA highly appreciates the Japanese International Cooperating Agency (JICA) for sponsoring accommodation and air tickets for all the essay participants from their various destinations to Namibia and back. JICA is non-governmental organization that provides developmental assistance to developing countries. JICA has entered into an agreement with RETOSA to support tourism through various initiatives.
Discussion for the agreement started in 2012 when JICA funded RETOSA management for a study trip in Japan, The purpose of the trip was to understand the Japanese eco-tourism program including the Japanese market for eco-tourism products. In 2013, JICA funded RETOSA management to go to the International Travel Bureau (I.T.B) to familiarise with the global market, strategies for participating at international fairs like I.T.B.
JICA again sponsored RETOSA management to attend and participate at the Japan Association of Travel Agency (JATA) 2013 where RETOSA was able to interact with many Japanese travel and tourism operators that are selling Africa.
ABOUT THE TOURISM RESEARCH PLANNERS CONFERENCE
The Tourism Research Planners Conference was running from Monday 2 December to Thursday 5 December 2013 and Friday the 6th was dedicated for the Youth in Tourism Essay Competition.
The Tourism Research Planners Conference is an ongoing program spearheaded by RETOSA to assist member states to build national capacities and systems of tourism statistics including Tourism Satellite Accounts. The program has proved to be very successful with the majority of RETOSA member states halfway through in developing experimental national Tourism Satellite Accounts.
During the conference, participants discuss planning and development of tourism statistics and satellite accounting. National and regional statistics are of major value for development, planning and strategic marketing purposes.
Further, to encourage tourism investment by governments, there is clear need to demonstrate the economic value and other benefits resulting from tourism. This can only be done by government's adoption of a program that improves the measurement, analysis, understanding and strategic management of the tourism sector and sustainable indicators.
The Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA) wishes to announce that the Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference, planned to be hosted in Malawi on 12 and 13 December 2013 at the Bingu International Conventional Centre has been postponed. This was due to reasons beyond our control. RETOSA will now run this event to be hosted by the Government of Namibia at a date which will be communicated in due course.
However, the inaugural Youth in Tourism Essay Competition which was supposed to run concurrently with the Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference was held on Friday 6 December 2013 on a boat cruise in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The Youth in Tourism Essay Competition has been running from August and the deadline for submission was 30 November 2013. The Youth in Tourism Essay Competition was a side event to the Southern Africa Research Planners Conference at Seaside Hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia.
Participants of the essay competition were drawn from the Fifteen SADC countries namely Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Out of the 15 countries, six students qualified for the finals and these were:
Kefiloe Motjetje aged 13 from Lesotho
Tsholofelo Tsheto aged 12 from Botswana
William T. Zenda aged 12 from Zimbabwe
The above qualified in level 1 (primary schools) and the topic for the essay was" Why tourist attractions in my country are the best in the world"
Finalists for Category 2 were: Iyanvwa Kankinda aged 12 from Zambia
Taloshili Olavi Hangula aged 15 from Namibia
Mbako Muzila aged 14 from Botswana
The above qualified in level 2 (secondary schools) and the topic for the essay was "What my government should do to turn my country into the best green tourism destination in the world".
The 6 SADC regional finalists each made an oral presentation of their essays before a panel of judges. Tsholofelo Tsheto, a grade 7 pupil from Mpani/ Magapatona Primary School in Botswana was crowned Deputy Southern Africa Tourism Minister 2014, while Taloshili Olavi Hangula, grade 10 student at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School, Windhoek, Namibia was crowned Southern Africa Junior Tourism Minister. Their term of office will run until the next Youth in Tourism Essay Competitionand elections for the new office bearers for 2015. In addition to that, the Junior Tourism Minister walked away with a lap top while the Deputy from primary school level won an I-Pad. The other four participants got cellphones and all the prizes were sponsored by Kwela Fleet. The Managing Director of Kwela Fleet flew all the way from South Africa to hand over the prizes to the winners.
The theme of the essay competition for 2013 was "Turning Southern Africa into A Competitive Green Tourism Destination".
Strategic Objectives for the Youth In Tourism Essay Competition
1. To facilitate the mainstreaming of tourism into the education system across the region;
2. To help school children to understand all the natural and cultural tourism resources available, their value and contribution to the economy, hence the need to conserve them;
3. To create awareness of business creating entrepreneurship mentality to the youth at an early age;
4. To create awareness on the importance of sustainable tourism;
5. To enlighten the youth on the importance of being tourists in their own countries as a way of promoting domestic tourism;
6. To promote regional integration and a Southern Africa, single destination vision among the youth.
Justification
The basis of this project is premised on the understanding and belief that real sustainability and competitiveness of tourism development in Southern Africa can be achieved by involving the youth in all aspects of the industry including:
• Nurturing tourism entrepreneurship among the youth;
• Establishing suitable tourism structures and platforms for scholars at national and regional level.
• Targeted capacity building programs for youth in tourism.
• To prepare the youth for the global tourism stage.
• Nurturing the youth to be tourists in their own countries and region.
In conclusion, RETOSA highly appreciates the Japanese International Cooperating Agency (JICA) for sponsoring accommodation and air tickets for all the essay participants from their various destinations to Namibia and back. JICA is non-governmental organization that provides developmental assistance to developing countries. JICA has entered into an agreement with RETOSA to support tourism through various initiatives.
Discussion for the agreement started in 2012 when JICA funded RETOSA management for a study trip in Japan, The purpose of the trip was to understand the Japanese eco-tourism program including the Japanese market for eco-tourism products. In 2013, JICA funded RETOSA management to go to the International Travel Bureau (I.T.B) to familiarise with the global market, strategies for participating at international fairs like I.T.B.
JICA again sponsored RETOSA management to attend and participate at the Japan Association of Travel Agency (JATA) 2013 where RETOSA was able to interact with many Japanese travel and tourism operators that are selling Africa.
ABOUT THE TOURISM RESEARCH PLANNERS CONFERENCE
The Tourism Research Planners Conference was running from Monday 2 December to Thursday 5 December 2013 and Friday the 6th was dedicated for the Youth in Tourism Essay Competition.
The Tourism Research Planners Conference is an ongoing program spearheaded by RETOSA to assist member states to build national capacities and systems of tourism statistics including Tourism Satellite Accounts. The program has proved to be very successful with the majority of RETOSA member states halfway through in developing experimental national Tourism Satellite Accounts.
During the conference, participants discuss planning and development of tourism statistics and satellite accounting. National and regional statistics are of major value for development, planning and strategic marketing purposes.
Further, to encourage tourism investment by governments, there is clear need to demonstrate the economic value and other benefits resulting from tourism. This can only be done by government's adoption of a program that improves the measurement, analysis, understanding and strategic management of the tourism sector and sustainable indicators.
Source - Rejoice (RETOSA)
