Erindi on the market for N$1.3 billion
February 4, 2014Namibia – Summer Flower Shows and the Sandhof Lilies
February 6, 2014One hundred staffers of German tour operator DERTOUR are currently in the country for a first-hand experience of African flair and the Namibia feeling. The Gondwana Collection hosted a welcome evening for them on Friday (31 January 2014) in its own shebeen at the Windhoek head office, and the travel agents enjoyed the event to the fullest.
DERTOUR’s Director for Africa, Petra Fraatz, thanked the sponsors of the Country Special – the Namibia Tourism Board, Air Namibia, the Gondwana Collection, Safari Court Hotel and especially Sense of Africa as the organiser on site – for their generous support and hospitality. She ended her speech with the line “Namibia is definitely worth a visit” to the enthusiastic applause of the DERTOUR travel agents.
A drum workshop by Drum Café got the guests going. (Photo: Judy & Scott Hurd)
Split into five groups, the DERTOUR staffers travelled through Namibia for several days on different routes. Group 1, for example, first visited Kalahari Anib Lodge on the fringe of the Kalahari, followed by Namib Desert Lodge at the foot of the fossilised dunes of the Namib, Damara Mopane Lodge near Khorixas in Damaraland and Etosha Safari Camp. There were also viewings at other lodges and they stopped at various sights. The group was unanimous that Etosha was the highlight of their trip: “We watched a pride of five lions take a giraffe. Right in front of our eyes, at the parking site!”
Dancing the night away… (Photo: Judy & Scott Hurd)
Now the travel agents are able to share first-hand experiences with clients and thus sell the travel destination Namibia in a more authentic and enthusiastic way. According to the NTB, bookings to Namibia rose by some 30 percent after the two previous DERTOUR Country Specials in Namibia, which took place in 2006 and 2009.
