WELCOME TO THE THIRD EDITION OF A JOURNEY THROUGH KAZA
As we continue on our journey together we are constantly engaging with more stakeholders who are keen to become involved in the global tourism marketing campaign. We would like to thank those that to date have generously offered their products to enable us to showcase all that Kavango Zambezi has to offer the travel trade and their clients. Inclusion continues to underpin this campaign.
Campaign update
Newsletter:
If you wish to view the monthly newsletters that we have sent out to the global travel trade so far, then click here for each edition.
New Microsite:
We are delighted to launch to you, our stakeholders, the first phase of the Kavango Zambezi microsite called “UncoverKAZA”. This site has been reviewed and approved by the national tourism organisations of the partner states and is ready to go live.
As you may recall from our stakeholder meetings and presentations, the microsite will continually evolve as more content is approved and added. As stakeholders, you are now able to submit your interest in being showcased on the Kavango Zambezi microsite. We, KAZA Secretariat, will review all applications and once approved, we will notify you and provide you with a link that will enable you to upload your information directly onto the microsite. This is an incredibly exciting digital marketing tool that all stakeholders can access to promote themselves and Kavango Zambezi.
May Press Trip:
The international press trip that took place in May 2023 continues to produce digital articles and you can view the latest ones here. We have also included a link to the previous articles for you to review as well. Kavango Zambezi continues to gain recognition throughout the international markets.
Our journalist from Australia, Kate Webster, is running a series of articles that will focus on each country plus lodge reviews for where they stayed. She has started with Botswana:
September Trade Trips and Second Media Trip:
Itineraries for the regional media trip and the two trade familiarisation trips taking place in September 2023 will focus on various areas of Kavango Zambezi and will include Lake Kariba, Hwange National Park, Kafue National Park, Khaudum National Park, Tsodilo Hills (World Heritage Site), Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Chobe National Park and more.
All the places on these trips have now been filled with international and regional tour operators and media who have potential to increase the awareness of Kavango Zambezi along with increasing the number of travellers choosing this region for their holiday destination. Accommodation, ground transport and a variety of activities have been sourced that are relevant to those media and tour operators and that will fill them with passion to promote and ultimately sell to their clients, on their return home.
Development of a Destination Brand & Corporate Identity:
KAZA branding enters next phase.
We are excited to share that The Journey team has entered an important stage of the KAZA branding process. Over the past few months, they have conducted research and gathered insights to inform the development of a brand strategy and visual identity for the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. No fewer than 8 workshops were held in the 5 partner states to solicit the views of tourism public, private and community stakeholders. This included a collective workshop where representatives from all 5 countries came together to agree on the brand positioning direction and key visual and verbal characteristics of the destination brand.
The next steps involves finalising the KAZA brand strategy, logo, and slogan. This will include a second collective stakeholder workshop on September 5th, where representatives from the 5 partner states will meet again to provide input and feedback on various options that will be presented to them by The Journey. Following their guidance, we will finalise the brand identity and slogan for KAZA.
Based on the chosen brand strategy and visuals, The Journey will then develop a brand toolkit and communication plan to bring the KAZA brand to life.
We believe that collaboration is the key to success. Your insights, feedback, and participation have been invaluable to the process and will help The Journey shape a brand that represents the true spirit and incredible beauty of Kavango Zambezi. Thank you for being an integral part of this journey!
KAZA Achievement:
This month KAZA has launched their new social media channels. This will be an excellent way for you as stakeholders to tag, post, and follow. By working together we will increase that global brand awareness of Kavango Zambezi.
Here are the links and tags below for you to maximise this opportunity:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kavangozambez
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KAZATFCA
YouTube: @kazatfca3870
Spotlight on …..
The Spotlight on KAZA section of this newsletter has been designed for you as stakeholders to learn more about how the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area is impacting on the lives of its rural communities.
The Kavango Zambezi initiative is led by the governments of the five partner states (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Its mission is: “to sustainably manage the Kavango Zambezi ecosystem, its heritage and cultural resources based on best conservation and tourism models for the socio-economic well-being of the communities and other stakeholders in and around the eco-region through harmonisation of policies, strategies and practices.”
What does that mean in reality on a daily basis?
KAZA is an initiative of the five partner states and aims to bring all of the role players together with a common unified goal:
To benefit the people, maintain their culture, improve their livelihoods and conserve the wildlife of Kavango Zambezi
KAZA’s Secretariat, based in Kasane, Botswana works closely with the partner states to:
- Co-ordinate and facilitate fund raising for projects across the TFCA in different fields, ranging from land-use planning, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and rural community livelihoods development, to natural resources management
- Identify specialist partners to implement these projects, which involves appointing them, monitoring their progress against clearly defined deliverables and reporting back to the partners states and donors on progress.
From the inception of KAZA over 100 million Euros has been invested into the Kavango Zambezi from a variety of generous donors and international development cooperation organisations.
Our most generous financial cooperation has come from the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW. We would like to throw a spotlight on the most recent investment made by KfW of almost 6 million Euros in 13 project contracts with NGO’s throughout the TFCA, who are using their expertise to implement priority projects in wildlife dispersal areas that are improving the lives of rural communities and conserving wildlife.
This is an exciting journey taking place in each partner state. Come with us on this journey as we introduce you to our project partners over the coming months and what they have achieved with support through the KAZA TFCA initiative. Hear about conservation agriculture, improved water collection points, and even how NASA are involved in developing an incredible new wildlife connectivity tool that will be used to more accurately assess human wildlife conflict hotspots and monitor trans-boundary wildlife corridors.
