SADC, Botswana Tourism Organisation, Air Botswana, and others have made possible the inaugural awards ceremony set to promote and offer exposure to the most exceptional participants in the local travel and tourism industry.
The awards will cover 16 distinct travel and tourism categories, recognising the best accommodation, transport, venue, photography, and promotion providers based in Botswana. The ceremony will also recognise the most prominent individuals trailblazing regional tourism.
BTTA CEO Kagiso Morebodi said that these awards are part and parcel of the presidential Reset Agenda to transform Botswana into a global tourism hub.
"These awards are in line with His Excellency's agenda to transform Botswana into a conference and travel centre that will resuscitate the travel industry and put Botswana on the global map," Morebodi stated.
"I was talking to the Minister of [Environment and] Tourism, and I told her that this is one opportunity to celebrate ourselves," he said.
To truly celebrate the contributions of the tourism industry to Botswana, the winners of the awards will receive an undisclosed cash prize, trophy, and a signed certificate from the Minister of Environment and Tourism.
Further, in celebration of the Botswana tourism industry and the natural beauty of the land, the ceremony will have a serenade with a newly created Botswana Tourism theme song exclusively by local artists.
The song features artists such as Vee Mampeezy, T.H.A.B.O, Tshepo Lesole, Rittar, and more.
It is sung in multiple languages native to Botswana fixated around praising the natural beauty of the lands to demonstrate the diversity of the nation, people and landscape.
Submissions to become a candidate for the awards are currently open until June 6. Registrations can be submitted through any BotswanaPost nationwide, or online.
A panel of independent judges will assess all candidates and select two nominees before the event, who will be invited to attend the June 18 ceremony.
The winners of the awards will all stand a chance to go further to be nominated for the Africa Travel Awards and the World Travel Awards.
Those nominations will lend themselves to turning the annual BTTAs into a more international ceremony as Morebodi explained that the awards have ambition towards being hosted in multiple SADC countries for the coming years, further offering the winners greater international exposure.
