In the past, most Namibian companies present at CMT were accommodated at one central stall organised and managed by the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB). 2008, however, was different. For the first the local operators had to hire their own floorspace because the NTB had decided not to organise a national stall for reasons of cost efficiency. Namibian companies with German business ties managed to find some floorspace at the booths of their partners. Others teamed up with a few other local operators in order to share a stand and save costs. And then there were those companies who decided to give it a go on their own and hired their own stall.
In the end, showcasing their product was worth it for just about every Namibian exhibitor at CMT. “Namibia seems to enjoy a high degree of popularity with a broad spectrum of the German public”, said Helmut Schäfer, head Windhoek-based tour operator Cheetah Tours & Safaris. The company maintains close business ties with Karawane Reisen, a large German operator. As Schäfer explains, “If I look at the catalogue of our German partner, I can see a clear trend towards Namibia as a tourism destination of choice.” The experienced tourism expert thinks he knows why the country is currently ranking that high in the favour of German travellers: “The current political problems in Kenya, combined with the parlous state prevailing in Zimbabwe and the unstable situation in some parts of South Africa certainly seem to be contributing to the fact that the demand for Namibia as a tourism destinations appears to be increasing.”
Klaus Schindler, proprietor of Charly’s Desert Tours, a tour company based in Swakopmund, was equally impressed with the turnout of people at his stall. “2008 was much better for me than last year”, he remarked. However, some people intending to visit Namibia seem to be rather disorganised or naïve, as he noted. “I was approached by some people who told me they were going to visit Namibia in September. In the course of the conversation it turned out that they had booked neither a flight nor any accommodation yet.” According to Schindler, some travellers seemed to fall prey to the misbelief that they could just board a plane and fly to Namibia without planning their trip.
Irmtraut Biederlack, representing S.W.A. Safaris, noted a clearly stronger price awareness among younger potential tourists she was approached by in Stuttgart. “The older people didn’t seem to worry quite as much about the expenses whereas the younger ones certainly appeared to be much more price-conscious. Yet, they were the ones that had identified Botswana as their dream destination. Affordable tourism and Botswana are two concepts that are simply incompatible”, smiled Biederlack.
NTB representative Jürgen Goetz was equally impressed by the number of visitors as his colleagues. “I was permanently busy giving advice to people. Namibia continues to enjoy a high degree of popularity among prospective visitors”, Goetz reflected when approached for comment.
The move to the new trade fair complex adjacent to Stuttgart airport certainly seems to have paid off for the organisers. Not only did they register a record 1850 exhibitors from 95 countries; for the first time in the 40-year history of CMT the 200,000-visitor-mark was surpassed in 2008.