Tourism Human Resources Strategy for Namibia

This Commonwealth Secretariat-funded research project looked into customer service capacity building in order to support the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) in implementing the 2011 ‘Tourism Human Resources Strategy for Namibia’.

Following the success of the initial Commonwealth Secretariat funded capacity building train-the-trainers programme, the Namibia Tourism Board then commissioned further research into customer services and the delivery of a capacity building customer service training programme in September 2013.

The Customer Service Train the Trainers Programme builds on the idea that the way holidaymakers are treated can be vital in how they experience a destination, and in encouraging them to return to it in the future and recommend it to friends and relatives.

The objective was to share knowledge and best practice to develop key customer service skills which would encourage tourists to visit and to return to Namibia. In tourism, as in any other sector, a satisfied customer is one of the most powerful sales and marketing tools for an organisation, service or product.

Based on priorities identified by the "Tourism human resource strategy for Namibia", published in 2011, the project is aimed at enhancing the visitor experience by improving customer service skills and destination knowledge of employees and volunteers through a high-profile customer service training initiative. The research consisted of three phases:

Inception
Design/Delivery of Customer Service Training
Recommendation on Funding Mechanism and Customer Service Award System.

Following on from similar projects in other Sub-Sahara locations, this is another example of how we are getting involved in international cooperation projects that are aimed at devising tourism policy and practices with a visible impact on the tourism sector as a whole and on the livelihood of those directly and indirectly benefitting from it.

Following on from similar projects in other Sub-Sahara locations, this is another example of how tourism academics are getting involved in international cooperation projects that are aimed at devising tourism policy and practices with a visible impact on the tourism sector as a whole and on the livelihood of those directly and indirectly benefitting from it.

The Train the Trainers project began in Namibia's capital, Windhoek, in September 2012 with a stakeholders' workshop led by Professor Novelli. This focused on understanding the issues on the ground and involved key players from the destination who helped identify key components of the training needed.

Senior figures who spoke at the workshop included Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia's Honourable Minister of Tourism and the Environment; Digu Naobeb, Chief Executive of the Namibia Tourist Board (NTB) and Dr Davis Barasa from the Commonwealth Secretariat. Dr Novelli gave a keynote address on best practices in service standards and the role played by customer services in the tourism experience.

The research team finalised the training material and the Train the Trainer programme started in January 2013. It was delivered in three locations across Namibia and enabled 60 Namibians to become certified customer service trainers to work with the NTB in the future.

As part of the drive to enhance Namibia’s image and in preparation for the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS), in September 2013, Namibian Tourist Board, with technical support from the University of Brighton, trained a further 25 tourism and shuttle operators and Immigration officials in Swakopmund and Windhoek.