Tsitsi Matope
THE Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) is working on bringing back tourists that have shunned the country due to the bouts of political instability of the past three years.
The corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mpaiphele Maqutu, told the Sunday Express in an interview that the tourism sector had been severely affected by the instability of the preceding years that resulted in the collapse of two governments within as many years.
He said the current government had shown commitment to grow the “job-rich” sector by identifying tourism as a key priority under the new National Strategic Development Plan, currently being crafted, hence the innovations.
However, a lot needs to be done to change the negative perceptions brought about by the series of conflicts dating back to 2014, Mr Maqutu added.
He further said at the moment, the Corporation’s major task is to strengthen its marketing drive to attract more tourists, particularly the traditional ones who have been shunning Lesotho following the negative security-related publicity.
In its innovations drive, the Corporation is looking at rolling out activities and creating tools that will improve the packaging of Lesotho’s tourism products.
“We are serious about drawing more benefits from regional and international activities the country hosts such as the Roof of Africa, Lesotho Sky, and the King’s Cup, as well as skiing at AfriSki.
“We are discussing new ideas with various actors to see how best such activities can be animated with a nationalistic flavour that shows the good, welcoming and warm nature of Basotho. It is critical for us to have events supported by all stakeholders in various ways, particularly the local communities,” Mr Maqutu said.
He further explained the need for inclusivity as an innovation that will pull all sectors, including local communities, into tourism events.
“For many years, the accommodation sector has been a major beneficiary in most of the tourism activities. Our stakeholder discussions will see how local communities can also tap into various events. This will build-up on our sensitisation campaigns to encourage the participation of all Basotho.”
Mr Maqutu cited the creation of Fan Parks as one innovation that could facilitate the sale of local handcrafts and food and showcasing of traditional dances and Basotho music.
According to Mr Maqutu, the recent pre-national budget outlook demonstrated the cross-cutting nature of the tourism industry, hence the need to create “permeable sectoral linkages” as one way to strengthen collaboration in marketing the tourism sector.
“Sectors such as agriculture, information technology and manufacturing, among others, have a lot to contribute towards strengthening our marketing drive. Take, for example, how increased organic food production and packaging information on the availability of such healthy food in our accommodation facilities, can act as a tourism drawcard for all health-conscious tourists,” Mr Maqutu said.
He emphasised the need to add more value to tourism products through the development of infrastructure such as designated entry points into all facilities, which could enable the provision of information by tour operators to help improve the marketing of tourist attractions.
An entrance fee would then be charged before tourists access such attractions, which is not the case at some of the facilities, Mr Maqutu added.
“We have magnificent attractions such as Letsa-La-Letsie and the Maletsunyane Falls in Semonkong where viewing is free.
“There are no entry points and not even nearby places where visitors can have some traditional food and drinks as is the case at other attractions in the region.”
However, many years of weak tour operations have also affected the marketing of Lesotho’s tourism. And as a result, the Corporation has embarked on an aggressive campaign to build the capacity of tour operators.
“We are currently on a robust drive to train more local tour operators because we cannot, at the same time, ban tour operators from neighbouring South Africa when we do not have local operators. We certainly do not want to create a vacuum and are hoping our efforts will continue to yield positive results to have local operators tell compelling stories about tourism products in this country,” he said.
Mr Maqutu added the Corporation was also looking at how to leverage the country’s outstanding performance in athletics to promote sports tourism as is the case with other countries capitalising on sectors or performances they are best known for. He is convinced that most regional and international runners would find the Lesotho terrain and high altitude favourable for training and challenging if the LTDC and Ministry of Sport were to introduce regional tournaments.
“This can help us market Lesotho as the ultimate place where real runners’ resilience is put to the ultimate test.”
Lesotho has a sporting facility in Ha Rapokolana that has been lying idle for years and Mr Maqutu said there are indications that the government may soon ensure it does not continue to be a white elephant and be used to host sporting events.