Travel agents insist on vaccinations
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
Many international travel agents are insisting that the staff of any Namibian tourism service provider they offer their clients to are indeed vaccinated.
CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (Han) Gitta Paetzold said that the tourism sector in early April already jumped to encourage vaccinations and sought permission from the health team to consider tourism as a priority group.
“We had already received a few indications from some international travel agents that vaccinations may become a precondition for making bookings in the future.”
“As the eagerness of Namibians to get the jab was very low at the beginning, the tourism teams managed to get vaccinated, and since mid-April we could see a very encouraging take-up among tourism staff, from Zambezi in the North, to Karas in the South, and obviously in the main centres such as Windhoek and the coast.”
Paetzold said the tourism industry regards the success of the national vaccination roll-out as a key driver of a tourism recovery.
Red-listed
“Currently, we are at the worst possible state - high risk, with variant status, has basically red-flagged Namibia as a travel destination for now, and foreign agents are reluctant to even entertain any bookings at this point in time, given the uncertainty as to our current status quo and the rapidly rising covid cases in Namibia.”
She said a drastic reduction of the Covid-19 transmission rate, paired with a very positive vaccination rate, may redress this negative status.
“We in tourism thus appeal to everyone to act responsibly, keep to the restrictions in terms of social distancing, masks and hygiene, and yes, we appeal to all to get vaccinated, as only a clear herd immunity by all can safeguard our image as safe travel destination.”
Meanwhile, Guido Roeschlau, contracting manager at Sense of Africa, says international travel agents have in the interim requested that they do a random check with all tourism suppliers regarding the vaccination status of themselves and their staff, especially those that deal directly with tourists.
Roeschlau have therefore engaged tourism partners in the country about their vaccination progress and told Namibian Sun that the feedback has been incredibly positive.
He said most lodges and accommodation establishments’ employees have gone for at least their first vaccination.
However, here and there they have found that some community members do not believe in vaccination and unfortunately, they cannot force a person to get vaccinated.
“The thing is just that tourists want to feel safe when travelling to a destination and therefore international agents are enquiring about the vaccination process and the regulations that are being implemented in the country.”
Optimistic
In a letter addressed to tourism partners, he writes that they believe Namibia is in the final wave of the pandemic and that from here on things will start to look better for the tourism industry.
“Thousands and thousands of Namibians are getting vaccinated every week and while the infection rate is still high positive cases seem to be steadily declining.”
He said even though Namibia has just received another blow from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany, this will not be long-term.
Authorities base their travel restrictions and warnings on findings of medical research institutes such as the RKI in Germany, who look at the 'incidence rate per capita' in a country to determine the severity of the pandemic.
“We must assure the international target market that their clients will be safe once our borders open up. We estimate that within six to eight weeks we will enjoy the first proper upsurge in tourism.”
He said that many of their agents are insisting that the staff of any Namibian tourism service provider they offer their clients are indeed vaccinated.
On the other hand, companies such as Bokomo have started initiatives such as the Covid Vaccination Lotto at their company to motivate employees to get vaccinated.
The lotto will in total give away N$45 000 in cash prices during two rounds to any employee of the company who has been vaccinated, Bokomo Namibia CEO Hubertus Hamm confirmed to Namibian Sun.
WINDHOEK
Many international travel agents are insisting that the staff of any Namibian tourism service provider they offer their clients to are indeed vaccinated.
CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (Han) Gitta Paetzold said that the tourism sector in early April already jumped to encourage vaccinations and sought permission from the health team to consider tourism as a priority group.
“We had already received a few indications from some international travel agents that vaccinations may become a precondition for making bookings in the future.”
“As the eagerness of Namibians to get the jab was very low at the beginning, the tourism teams managed to get vaccinated, and since mid-April we could see a very encouraging take-up among tourism staff, from Zambezi in the North, to Karas in the South, and obviously in the main centres such as Windhoek and the coast.”
Paetzold said the tourism industry regards the success of the national vaccination roll-out as a key driver of a tourism recovery.
Red-listed
“Currently, we are at the worst possible state - high risk, with variant status, has basically red-flagged Namibia as a travel destination for now, and foreign agents are reluctant to even entertain any bookings at this point in time, given the uncertainty as to our current status quo and the rapidly rising covid cases in Namibia.”
She said a drastic reduction of the Covid-19 transmission rate, paired with a very positive vaccination rate, may redress this negative status.
“We in tourism thus appeal to everyone to act responsibly, keep to the restrictions in terms of social distancing, masks and hygiene, and yes, we appeal to all to get vaccinated, as only a clear herd immunity by all can safeguard our image as safe travel destination.”
Meanwhile, Guido Roeschlau, contracting manager at Sense of Africa, says international travel agents have in the interim requested that they do a random check with all tourism suppliers regarding the vaccination status of themselves and their staff, especially those that deal directly with tourists.
Roeschlau have therefore engaged tourism partners in the country about their vaccination progress and told Namibian Sun that the feedback has been incredibly positive.
He said most lodges and accommodation establishments’ employees have gone for at least their first vaccination.
However, here and there they have found that some community members do not believe in vaccination and unfortunately, they cannot force a person to get vaccinated.
“The thing is just that tourists want to feel safe when travelling to a destination and therefore international agents are enquiring about the vaccination process and the regulations that are being implemented in the country.”
Optimistic
In a letter addressed to tourism partners, he writes that they believe Namibia is in the final wave of the pandemic and that from here on things will start to look better for the tourism industry.
“Thousands and thousands of Namibians are getting vaccinated every week and while the infection rate is still high positive cases seem to be steadily declining.”
He said even though Namibia has just received another blow from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany, this will not be long-term.
Authorities base their travel restrictions and warnings on findings of medical research institutes such as the RKI in Germany, who look at the 'incidence rate per capita' in a country to determine the severity of the pandemic.
“We must assure the international target market that their clients will be safe once our borders open up. We estimate that within six to eight weeks we will enjoy the first proper upsurge in tourism.”
He said that many of their agents are insisting that the staff of any Namibian tourism service provider they offer their clients are indeed vaccinated.
On the other hand, companies such as Bokomo have started initiatives such as the Covid Vaccination Lotto at their company to motivate employees to get vaccinated.
The lotto will in total give away N$45 000 in cash prices during two rounds to any employee of the company who has been vaccinated, Bokomo Namibia CEO Hubertus Hamm confirmed to Namibian Sun.
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