MAUN CARNIVAL MEETS TOUR OPERATORS
COLOURFUL costumes, flamboyant floats and celebrations of culture on the streets are some of the thrilling activities that revellers can look forward to at the Maun Carnival on September 29th - October 1st in Maun.
On Thursday last week, the Maun Carnival in collaboration with Botswana Tourism Organisation held a stakeholders’ meeting at Maun Lodge to brief local tour operators on the event.
Speaking at the Thursday meeting, BTO’S Tourism Development Manager, Thatayaone Mmapatsi, appealed to the stakeholders to collaborate with the event coordinators in order to derive maximum economic benefit for themselves as well as for the tourism value chain.
“Include the carnival in your packages and bring those tourists going in an out of the Delta to the celebrations and to the music festival,” Mmapatsi said to scores of excited tour operators who had turned up for the meeting.
The inaugural three-day event has been strategically scheduled to coincide with Independence holidays, which are often themed around culture and cuisine.
Another speaker at the stakeholder’s meeting was the event coordinator, Emang Mutapati, who highlighted the great opportunity provided by the Carnival to breathe life into the local economy, which was devasted by Covid-19.
Mutapati also invited interested tour operators to come forward and seek collaboration, especially for day three activities, dubbed ‘Rock the Boat’, which is essentially boat rides and breakfast on the river.
Meanwhile, the fully packed Maun Carnival activities include Family Fun Day, Music Festival, Poetry Night, Rock the Boat, and a street parade.
“The carnival is meant promote the spirit of togetherness in the community. It also provides a great opportunity for brand awareness through floats,” Mutapati said as she invited businesses to participate in the festivities.