A new, more flexible, representative and dynamic structure for the Hospitality Association of Namibia was agreed upon at the Association’s 18th Annual General Meeting, concluded at the Safari Hotel in Windhoek today, Thursday, 12 May 2005.

Under the new structure, direct representation at HAN Executive level has been made possible for the following sectors:

1.Hotels/Hotel Pensions

2.Lodges, Tented Lodges Tented Camps

3.Guest Farms

4.Bed & Breakfast; Guest Houses & Backpackers

5.Rest Camps, Camping & Caravan Parks

6.Restaurant, Conference, Catering Head Offices, Marketing Groups

With the new structure, which replaces HAN’s regional set-up, the Association aims to encourage and facilitate more direct input and involvement of all the sectors of the accommodation and catering industry and offers a fairer representation of the various accommodation categories represented within HAN.

The Hospitality Association of Namibia extends an open invitation to establishments of all categories, and catering concerns, in particular Namibia’s restaurants, to join the Association, which will provide direct access to decision making levels through the new and existing private sector tourism industry structures. The new structure further provides for a scaled membership fee that gives consideration to the size of an establishment, as HAN is keen to offer a platform not only for the larger, more established industry, but would like to open doors in particular for the newly developing enterprises on the hospitality sector, then at a lesser membership fee.

At the HAN AGM, the following persons were elected to the newly structured HAN Executive:

Representing the group Hotels/Hotel Pensions: Mr Tom Mutavdzic from Nest Hotel, Lüderitz, and Mrs Heidemarie Rapmund from Hotel Pension Rapmund as his Vice.

The group Lodges, Tented Lodges Tented Camps will be headed by Mr Manni Goldbeck from Gondwana Desert Collection in the South.

Guest Farms, currently the largest sector within HAN will be headed by Mr Christie Benade from Lake Oanob near Rehoboth, with Mrs Sybille Rückleben of Africa Farm Ondekaremba as his stand-in.

Mrs Angelika Kowlowski from Jan Jonker Holiday Appartments was nominated to lead the group: B&B’s, Guest Houses and Backpackers.

And heading the group: Rest Camps, Camping & Caravan Parks is Mr Frank Löhnert of Walvis Bay Resorts, with Mr Albie van Biljon of Alte Brücke Resorts in Swakopmund as his stand-in.

The group: Restaurants, independent Conference Centres, Catering concerns, Head Offices and Marketing Groups did not elect a representative at the AGM, however, HAN’s National Chairman, Mr Willem De Wet, re-elected into this position unanimously by the HAN AGM, will fill the vacancy as representative of the Namibia Country Lodges Head Office in Windhoek.

HAN is convinced, that with its new structure in place, many more enterprises in the various sectors will be enticed to join the Association, confident, that their needs will be fully addressed and their interests effectively represented not only at HAN Executive level, but through HAN on other organised structures within Namibia tourism, including the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations, with whom HAN has a strong and positive working relationship.

HAN is committed to work towards a unified tourism industry, in which all sectors are represented and encouraged to enter the industry and grow with it through uplifting the quality of products and services for the betterment of the tourism industry and Namibia as a whole.