Botswana mission in Doha soon as QA set to launch direct flight on Dec 15
A Botswana diplomatic mission will be opened in Qatar in the near future, according to Botswana Ambassador to Kuwait HE Manyepedza P Lesetedi, as Qatar Airways scheduled December 15 direct flight to the capital city Gaborone is expected to boost Botswana tourism, and trade relations between the two countries.
Currently, passengers from Doha depend on flights to Johannesburg, Windhoek and Cape Town to reach cities in Botswana, taking 12 hours.
The Qatar Airways service will bring down the journey time to around seven hours.
This was revealed by the Botswana ambassador whose tourism body, Botswana Tourism Destination made a presentation at the Hospitality Qatar 2019 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC).
Speaking to Qatar Tribune, ambassador Lesetedi said, “We have a very cordial relationship with Qatar and over the years, we have made some exchanges in both government and private-sector levels. Previously, we received a delegation from Qatar to explore investment and trade opportunities. Some of the areas they were interested in included hospitality like hotels and lodgings, agriculture and mineral sector. As you may know, we have a lot of minerals and we are the largest producer of diamond by value in the world. We have managed to set up some companies for cutting and polishing. Now we want to promote much more in the value chain.”
He added, “The Qatar Airways launch flight on December 15 will serve as an impetus for the interest and cooperation between the two countries. Because once we have lots of tourists coming from Botswana to Qatar and vice-versa, it will open up other opportunities beyond tourism and areas of investment and we hope that will be achieved.
“A diplomatic mission opening is possible in the near future with all these cooperations.”
Speaking on Botswana Tourism Destination at the Hospitality Qatar, the ambassador said, “We are here mainly because we want to support Qatar Airways as it will fly direct to Gaborone on December 15. It is of our interest to be here to market our country as a tourist and investment destination.
The envoy added that the leading two operators that came to the event received so many inquiries for bookings.
He said their presence in one of the session was a catalyst in raising consciousness about Botswana during the event.