Sunday 9 November 2014

Namibia: different views on Ebola preparedness

As the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) struggles to come to terms with millions of dollars’ worth of tours to the country being cancelled for the rest of this year, and the year 2015, the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) insists that the government has done a great job in assuring international visitors that they should not worry about the Ebola virus when coming to Namibia. In addition to the threatening Ebola scare sneaking its way through West Africa and abroad, HAN fears the erosion of future business profits as the crisis is jeopardizing Namibia’s reputation.
Even though the Ebola-affected countries are thousands of kilometres away from Namibia, the Ebola virus has shown itself victorious to set a state of alarm to potential tourists.
“HAN has attempted to unearth any form of official statement from the Namibian Government, and in particular that of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Prime Minister’s Office, that could in some way rid irrational and fictitious theories on the prowl,” Gitta Paetzold, CEO of HAN said.
NWR manager of corporate communications and online media, Mufaro Nesongano, explains that they have increased their awareness in the domestic market, not just solely depending on the foreign market. “We have been participating in regional and international fairs and expos over the past months with the aim of sensitising our market that they should not worry when coming to any of our establishments,” Nesongano elaborated.
In an attempt to save the private hospitality industry, HAN has approached an internationally recognised crisis and reputation management consultant Jeff Chatterton that will offer them the opportunity to learn how to manage and subside the looming crisis that the Ebola scare has brought to the African continent in terms of image and reputation loss.

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