It may not be top on of Canadians' radar when it comes to South Africa, but Botswana wants to change that.
The country's High Commissioner for North America and two other members of his staff; The Education Attaché and the Second Secretary were in town to foster relationships with the Canadian travel industry to help generate awareness and increase visitation. TravelPulse Canada spoke with High Commissioner Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, about why it's so important to be strong in the Canadian market and highlight what the country has to offer.
"Botswana is a safe, very democratic country with lots of history," Mokaila tells TravelPulse Canada. "Behind diamonds, tourism is our second largest industry, and we are able to offer Canadians a mix of history, outdoor adventure, incredible wildlife and beautiful landscapes and cities."
The beautiful landscapes he mentions include the most popular "Garden of Eden", located south of the Zambezi River in northern Botswana. It's long been billed as the ancestral homeland of the world, where the first humans lived around 200,000 years ago.
"It's incredible and something everyone should really see in their lifetime, it's definitely a bucket list item."
Botswana is known for its high quality safari camps in areas such as the Okavango Delta, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Chobe National Park which have some of the highest concentration of wildlife in all of Africa.
While there are no direct flights into Botswana, there are into Johannesburg via major airlines. It's about a four-hour drive into Botswana, with many local airlines offering quick easy flights.
"This is why it's important we are here, (in Toronto) to meet with members of the Canadian travel industry to increase product offerings and increase the knowledge of agents to help our overall visitation. Botswana should be a destination for Canadians to experience the beauty we have to offer."
Agents should keep an eye out for upcoming FAM trips and educational webinars offered by Botswana Tourism.
