HAN –

In the early 1970s, a few hoteliers formed an association to be known as the Windhoek Hotel Keepers Association, spearheaded by Hotel Safari. After Mr Hamman Senior's death in 1983, this association stagnated.

Late in 1987, leaders in the hotel industry, including Mr Johnnie Hamman and Mr A. Pimenta, revived the initiative and Mr Hamman drafted a constitution for the association. In March 1998, the Hotel Association of SWA/Namibia was founded with an initial seven members.

The inaugural congress took place in Windhoek and was attended by 15 hotels, guest farms and hotel garnis.

The first chairman elected for the Hotel Association of SWA/Namibia was Mr Johnnie Hamman, while the vice-chairman was Mr Tom Mutavdzic, then of the Canyon Hotel in Keetmanshoop, Tim Parkhouse of Namib Sun Hotels (NSH) was elected secretary, the treasurer became Jutta Kasimir, also of NSH, with additional members being Ria von Seydlitz of Immenhof Guest Farm, and Andre Snyman of Hotel Schweizerhaus.

In 1990, after Namibia's independence, the name of the association was changed to Hotel Association of Namibia, HAN, and Mr Tom Mutavdzic was elected as chairman.

At independence in 1990, the late Andre Snyman of Hotel Schweizerhaus and Cafe Anton in Swakopmund was elected HAN chairman. His wife Heidi currently still serves on the HAN executive committee, making her the longest-serving executive member and she still runs the over 50-year-old hotel at the coast, which has become an icon of warm hospitality and 'Schwarzwälderkirschtorte' in Namibia.

Due to the growing diversity of tourism facilities in Namibia since the Eighties, HAN, first known as the hotel association in Namibia, was changed to the Hospitality Association of Namibia at the AGM in June 1996.

Since its inception, HAN has worked to influence tourism policy-making to optimise growth for the sector, such as Namibia's first Gambling Bill in 1994 - which caused some ruffling of feathers then - and it is interesting to note that today, Cabinet is to review the Gambling Act again.

Labour legislation has for decades also occupied agendas of the tourism industry, a sector expected to work on a 24/7 basis and yet not considered for any essential service concessions. One of the main and hotly debated issues at HAN meetings has been the issue of the labour Act in view of Sunday work and overtime.

Archive documentation shows that HAN tried as far back as 1993 to convince government that the tourism/hotel industry, which by legislation is defined and forced to operate on a continuous basis, should be granted an exemption of the specific clauses on double pay for Sunday and holiday work in the Act. The debate is ongoing.

Other topics that dominated the HAN agenda since its inception 30 years ago include skills training, and sadly, also the impact of crime on our tourism industry, something that in 2017 has peaked again.

Recognising the need to increase awareness of the value of tourism on a country's economy, HAN in the mid-2000s, as part of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations, set out to work on a Tourism Transformation Charter, which all association members signed up to after 2004, to reflect the scope and intention to expand and effect change in tourism. The contents of this document still hold great value and address seven core elements:

1. Skills development

2.Apprenticeships, internships, and sponsorships

3.Strategic representation and employment equity

4.Ownership and joint-venture partnerships

5.Preferential procurement

6.Enterprise development

7.Social responsibility programmes



In all its almost 30 years of existence, HAN has maintained national annual programmes by hosting not only its yearly AGM, which as from 2010 included special focus sessions, such as Tourism and Training, Tourism and Mining and a National Tourism Dialogue, but also staging its annual congress, HAN Tourism Trade Forum and Tourism Awards Gala during which places, products and people excelling in tourism are celebrated and honoured.

HAN is one of a few institutions that contributes to statistics collection of the tourism industry. Since 2000, with the technical advice of Wolfgang Schenck, HAN has been collecting and processing tourism statistics efforts, results of which are being used by authorities and business institutions across the economic spectrum.

Another standing HAN topic has been training and it is heartening to see that one of HAN's founding members, Tom Mutavdzic, has dedicated his last career move to the establishment of a private hospitality training academy to serve the needs of our industry, while also committed and involved at the Namibia Training Authority as advisor and assessor.

Tourism is everyone's business, and the Hospitality Association of Namibia remains committed to serve this diverse and dynamic industry for the benefit of Namibia and all its people.



Gitta Paetzold