“From the 9th to 13th March, the ITB (International tourism bourse), the world’s leading travel show took place in Berlin. The German market is one of Lesotho`s most important tourist markets.
Lesotho was represented by the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC), 3 private tour operators and Maliba Mountain Lodge. The Lesotho stand was located in the heart of the Africa hall, close to other tourist destinations like South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia etc. and had a steady flow of interested visitors. The stand was beautifully decorated by traditional Basotho craftwork, blankets, woven baskets and hats which made it a very unique and eye-catching attraction in the hall.
Lesotho ITB Berlin stand
The Lesotho stand attracted a huge number of German and European tour operators, travel agents and private visitors. Who were interested in the huge potential of the pristine mountain areas and the vast array of activities that are provided in Lesotho, such as horse riding, hiking, 4 X 4 drives, fishing, bird watching and cultural/community based activities.
Many tour operators sighted the lack of up-market accommodations as a reason for by-passing Lesotho in the past. Thus a great deal of attention was focused on the only 5 star lodge in Lesotho, the Maliba Mountain Lodge which offers 5 star comfort and services, including a broad range of recreational and nature based activities in the heart of Lesotho’s largest National Park (Ts’ehlanyane).
Hopefully this antiquated view of Lesotho will soon be a thing of the past with many operators deciding to include Lesotho in their portfolios.
On 11th march (Moshoeshoe`s day) the Lesotho stand was attended by a delegation of the embassy in Berlin leaded by His Excellency Dr. Nyaphisi who was encouraging and thanking the whole team of the Lesotho stand for the strong engagement in developing the tourism in this beautifully country.
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