HAN is highly esteemed to award Piet Swiegers this prestigious Award due to many reasons. Piet has rendered highly commendable support to HAN; he is a constant and committed contributor to the HAN statistics and offers assistance to the hospitality industry when so required. His extensive knowledge and passion for the industry is reflected in the quality of his business and on going support of industry initiatives with emphasis on community development.
Piet is the drive and the backbone of the family business known as Klein Aus Vista. His zeal for success has transformed what was once a sheep farm to a successful tourism business, but he has put Aus on the map, he transformed what was once a barren land to one of the most sought after destinations.
Klein Aus Vista is a unique and personalized project at the edge of the desert, giving the visitor real value for money.
In a nutshell, Piet is awarded this prestigious HAN Personality award because of his longstanding loyalty to HAN and industry as a whole. Furthermore for his compliance to the Industry Transformation charter through his efforts to revive Aus and thirdly his strong conservation spirit which contributes tremendously to the preservation of the hotspot Aus. He has encouraged a community that was desolate to raise and become – they structured themselves and today through substantial funding from the EU – the Aus Information Centre has brought yet another sign of optimism for the community. Piet mentored the Aus community to form a Trust which is today the owner of the Aus Information Centre, creating employment for community members and providing the area with yet another reason to be visited. He is a true pioneer in community development.
He plays a pivotal role as an ambassador for Aus, assisting the media with relevant information, picture material and educational and more. He is Mr. Aus. He is a man of integrity and passionate about tourism. His business is governed by sound business principles – the 3-legged approach – Social, Environmental and Financial leg. Klein Aus Vista is a praiseworthy, ever evolving family business. Successfully managed by five children and their parents - HAN is proud to have Klein Aus Vista as a member. 
On receipt of the HAN Personality of the Year award, Mr. Swiegers expressed gratitude to HAN and his colleagues for the recognition granted to him and his team, in aiming to extend the development of tourism to the entire Namibian community.  He said the Aus Tourism Information Centre,  to be officially opened in the coming week,  is a community project providing the Aus Community with hands-on involvement and ownership of the centre,  as well as a shared vision and common goals in growing the tourism sector for the benefit of all.  According to Mr. Swiegers, the tourism industry can only be successful and reach its full potential in the long run,  if all Namibians take ownership of and responsibility for it, and he urged all his colleagues in the industry to reach out in opening opportunities for all Namibians to enter this exciting industry.