Young people in the North West District have been strongly urged to exploit lucrative value chain opportunities that feed into and sustain the region’s booming tourism sector.
This call to action took center stage at the two-day Maun Hospitality and Tourism Fair held this week. The event was collaborative effort between the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs and UNICEF, driven through the Generation Unlimited programme—a global public-private-youth partnership dedicated to connecting young people with education, skills training, employment, and entrepreneurship.
Delivering the keynote address, Deputy North West District Commissioner Ramogaupi Gaorekwe challenged the youth to look beyond mainstream jobs and target interconnected activities that support the wider hospitality ecosystem. He emphasized a strategic shift from merely seeking employment with tour operators toward building integrated, locally owned, and commercially viable supply chains.
Gaorekwe highlighted that these value chain opportunities involve anchoring local suppliers, small businesses, and communities directly to the specific goods and services required by luxury hotels, lodges, and tour operators. This structural shift, he noted, ensures that tourism wealth remains within local communities, empowers youth, and generates sustainable economic value.
Drawing comparisons to other transport networks, Gaorekwe noted that the aviation sector operates on the same principle, relying on an array of interconnected services well beyond flying aircraft.
“As a tourism hub, my belief is that we can do much better in this sector than any other industry that is deeply rooted in other districts,” the deputy district commissioner stated.
However, Gaorekwe cautioned that entrepreneurship requires resilience, urging attendees to practice patience, hard work, and focus. “Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Where you invest time and resources in your dreams, you will certainly achieve what you want,” he encouraged, while also pushing youth to benchmark their operations and continuously learn new skills to add distinct value to their businesses.
Outlining the core objectives of the fair, Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs Programmes Officer Onalenna Kedidimetse explained that the event aimed to expose young entrepreneurs to an industry that remains far from saturated.
“We have realized that the tourism market in Maun is not yet saturated, but our youth simply do not know much about it,” Kedidimetse emphasised.
She explained that the strategic goal is to foster a private sector-led economy, enabling youth to venture into broader tourism businesses instead of relying on government support or struggling to secure standard employment, especially at a time when graduate job absorption rates remain low.
