Tuesday 16 September 2014

Gondwana’s new hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia

Swakopmund is to have another new hotel that challenges the traditional hotel establishment, to compete in one of the picturesque tourism attraction town on the misty coast of Namibia. The hotel, being developed by the Gondwana Group, will have 54 rooms, but its offering would be slightly different from the other hotels in the area. For starter, the hotel will not offer dinner service to guests, – there is a host of other items that would not be on offer – because the hotel aims at complementing its offerings with what is already being offered by other small hospitality establishments around the town. Gondwana Group has based its business model for the hotel on a supplementary approach to small and medium hospitality outlets in the area.

“There are so many good restaurants within walking distance that we decided against offering dinner,” said Alain Noirfalise, Operations Director of the Gondwana Group, on the hotel’s supplemental approach and the reason why the hotel would offer breakfast only.

Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has hailed the innovative approach of Gondwana Group and decided to fund the hotel development. “In the long run, the hotel will require goods and services needed to provide accommodation, so that also improves opportunities for enterprises. It will bring the benefits directly associated with tourism, which includes opportunities for tour and activity operators in Namibia, hospitality and retail outlets at the coast. The additional beds in Swakopmund will give greater certainty to tour operators who need accommodation in Swakopmund to ensure their own operations in other parts of the country as well,” said DBN Head of Lending, John Mbango.

DBN also says tourism is one of the areas it expects to make an impact, as noted in its 5-year strategic plan till 2018, hence the hotel in Swakopmund exemplifies the type of project that the bank seeks to finance. “There is severe pressure on accommodation in Swakopmund during the international tourism high season in the second two quarters of the year, and the sustainability of an accommodation establishment of this nature is also supported by high regional demand for beds during December and over Easter,” Mbango said.

According to the Economic Outlook Report for July 2014, published by the Bank of Namibia, the outlook for tourism in the 2014 tourism season is currently weak due to uncertainty in Namibia’s main tourism markets, but is expected to improve during 2015. This dovetails with the projected completion of the new hotel.

“DBN particularly wants to see more proposals from conservancies. We are aware that a number of public private partnerships (PPPs) have been extremely successful, not only in developing and running lodges, but also in making major development gains for the communities involved in the lodges. This extends to gains in employment, community infrastructure and sustainability of the environment”, added Mbango.

The hotel is expected to create 32 permanent jobs. Immediately during the construction phase, it is expected to create employment opportunities in the construction industry, as well as income generating opportunities for enterprises that supports the contractor, and additional associated employment benefits.

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