The Hospitality Association of Namibia is very proud to be able to add its milestone to the list of anniversaries this year, namely the 20th Anniversary of HAN.
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) was formed in 1987 to fill the gap left by the closure of the Hotel-Keepers Association of the 1970’s. Initially, HAN, then the Hotel Association of SWA/Namibia, was founded by some 16 members, mainly from the hotel group, as well as one or two guest farms at the time. Very soon however, through the dedication and dynamism of its founding members, including Johnnie Hamman, Tom Mutavdzic and Ria von Seydlitz, HAN grew in membership and importance, to its almost 380 members in 2007, including all sectors of the variety of tourism accommodation available in Namibia, such as hotels, lodges, guest farms, guest houses, self-catering, and B&B, rest camps and resorts, as well as marketing and hospitality service providers, suppliers to the industry, head offices, some restaurants and other associate members to the hospitality industry.
At the upcoming AGM of HAN, to be held in conjunction with the annual Tourism Expo on 1 June 2007, HAN members will be asked to endorse the new structure of HAN, initiated in 2005 and aimed at increasing member participation and member input. This was done to counteract arguments and complaints, that the Association is lead by “only an elected few, usually the big guns, who only promote their own interests.”
The current HAN structure allows for an equal status for all categories - from the small B&B, to the big hotels - and a clear sign that HAN has moved with the times in creating structures that adhere to the tourism trends and developments in Namibia, where some decades ago only a few hotels and motels existed, to a country boasting with a wide variety of accommodation, versatile in size, scope and price.
HAN’s function in brief is one of motivating, prodding, expediting, commenting on, criticising and supporting a diverse range of issues in the interest of tourism and hospitality. And the range of issues is indeed diverse, and brings HAN and more specifically its Executive members in contact with a variety of different groupings, authorities and interest groups on countless occasions during the year.
To mention only a few issues, where HAN´s involvement has been valuable to its members in the past, one is the representation of interests of the Hospitality industry during discussions of the draft Labour Act. HAN is a member of the Namibia Employers Federation and as such had direct input and insight into the development of the labour law.
HAN has also been active in discussions with the NTB and other associations and authorities involving tourism legislation and development plans, quality control, establishment of standards and the like. Through Fenata, the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations, HAN has given intensive input in surveys and research done for the Tourism Satellite Account, which was launched last year and for the first time clearly spells out the value and impact of the tourism industry on the Namibian Economy, as well as input on the development proposals sought by the Millenium Challenge Account offered by the United States - results of which are expected within the next few months.
Furthermore, HAN was actively involved in the establishment of national unit standards of hospitality and tourism training, a process that is nearing completion and was spearheaded by the NTB and the Namibia Training Authority. HAN strongly supports the call for more investment in training of staff for the tourism industry, as this is believed to improve the quality of service and thus improve the quality of the tourism industry in general.
HAN also has representation on the Polytechnic advisory committee for the Hotel and Tourism school.
The association believes that collective bargaining and close networking with partners in the tourism industry and other related sectors is the key to success for any grouping or association and thus openly invites all tourism accommodation enterprises to join hands in promoting the good of the industry and the accommodation sector specifically, and to stand united in furthering the cause and interests of tourism in general.
For more information on HAN and its AGM on 1 June 2007 at the Protea Hotel Fürstenhof in Windhoek contact:
Gitta Paetzold
HAN CEO
Tel/Fax: 061-222904
Email: gittap@HANnamibia.com
