Namibia Tourism Board launches Holiday Activities Campaign

Text & Photos Namibia Tourism Board | Main photo ©Paul van Schalkwyk

With the country fast approaching December and the national holiday season, the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) proudly launched their Holiday Activities Campaign, “Namibia in a Day”, an exciting new campaign that aims to entice locals to travel more inside the country by exploring various activities available in and around various cities and towns.

I n line with their mission to market and develop tourism to and within Namibia, and as the agency tasked with ensuring growth in the Namibian tourism sector, the NTB believes that “Namibia in a Day” will positively help to influence the country’s perception of local tourism products and highlight the beauty of Namibia from the people’s own point of view.

According to the NTB, a distinct opportunity also exists for Namibians to add their own flavours of fun to what the country has to offer in the form of activities, tastes, sights and sounds.

The campaign revolves around an interactive quiz game that, through a series of fun questions, finds out what personality you have, what you like, and serves up the activity, place of interest or top tip, based on who you are and the most relevant choice.

The idea came from a realization that, whether on or off the beaten track, apart from larger attractions like the Etosha National Park, Sossusvlei and the Fish River Canyon, a need exists for a platform on which Namibians can find and showcase their own ‘special’ ways of enjoying the country, whether it’s sitting down for a local delicatessen in their village, finding a relatively unknown common area for walkers and cyclists in Windhoek, even a special community-based tours of the informal settlements.

The Board also hopes that by exploring what the country has to offer, Namibians can firstly realise the potential for adventure and fun in our own country, and secondly, share their own favourites and allow others a chance to experience some ‘hidden gems’.

Along with the quiz game “Namibia in a Day, Proudest Picks” that refers to the magnificent choice of activities that can be found around the country, the campaign is mostly digitally driven and therefore makes it possible for anyone around the country to take part.

“With Namibia in a Day, we worked with our digital agency to create a mobile-friendly platform from where each and every one of us can explore the sights and sounds of what’s going on around us, whether it’s a walking trail, a local sight worth exploring, a joyful experience, a local hangout or, perhaps just their favourite place and time to sit and watch the world go by. This means that when you’re planning your weekend or are looking for something interesting to do, wherever in the country you are, you can explore all the options around you and with a few easy clicks, find out exactly what it’s about,” said Rebekka Amadhila, Manager of Online and Digital Marketing in the Namibia Tourism Board’s Marketing Department.

Apart from finding a relevant answer to the age old question of “What should we do today?”, if a player feels that they have something they enjoy doing, and would like to share it, they can easily upload their little gem for others to find.

To make sure that small and large tourism-orientated businesses can also benefit from the “Namibia in a Day” campaign, if a business offers any services related to an activity, they can link their My.Na business listing to the result. For instance, if there’s an activity such as exploring the bay of Walvis Bay, if a business gives guided tours, that business and others who offer guided tours can go to the activity and from here, link their businesses to it.

In regards to quality control, campaign administrators will work in the background to approve all entries and ensure that the campaign offers only the best options and results.

According to Mr Digu //Naobeb, CEO of Namibia Tourism Board, apart from creating a fun, interactive platform to showcase what the country has to offer, the “Namibia in a Day” campaign is also a huge step towards enabling broad base participation of Namibians in the tourism industry and creates a platform from which smaller operators and providers can get their services recognized.

With all Namibians getting ready to lock up for December, now’s the time to explore in and around every city, town and village.