Janet has served on the association's exco
as Vice/Congress Chair for the better part of a decade.
For the second year in a row, the
hospitality association had to conduct its Annual General Meeting as a digital
event where a new exco was one of the main items on the agenda.
Assisting Janet to steer HAN is Mika
Shapwanale, the GM of Mushara Lodge, as Vice Chairman. He has been on the HAN
Executive for over 6 years and has been instrumental in HAN's regional
roadshows in the North since 2017.
New members to the HAN Executive are:
Mrs Anna Kankondi from OL Leisure /OL Group
Manager Stakeholder Relations;
Mr Ally Karaerua, MD of Natural Selection;
Mr Herman Kalipa, owner of Kali Guesthouse,
Shuttle & Tours; and
Mrs Suzanne Bonitz, owner of Reservation
Destination.
They join Anett Koetting of Taleni Africa
Holdings, GM of Hotel zum Kaiser and the HAN Coastal Chair, Johan Fourie of
Wilderness Safaris, Ruggero Micheletti of Nkasa Lupala /Jackalberry Camp in
Zambezi and Heidi Snyman of Café Anton/Schweizerhaus Hotel and the longest
serving HAN Executive and co-founder of the association over 30 years ago.
HAN was founded in 1987 by a small group of
only 16 individuals who shared an interest and investment in tourism
accommodation in Namibia, mainly from the hotel and guest-farming categories.
Over the years, HAN has grown into an association of just under 400 member
companies, 300 of which are full members in the direct accommodation business,
with a collective estimated capital investment and fixed assets in Namibia of
some N$7 billion.
HAN members represents some 7000 rooms and
15 000 commercial beds offered as part of the Namibian tourism product. Most
larger groups, hotels and lodge companies have chosen to align with HAN over
the years, while HAN prides itself in representing a diversity of players in
size, category and location across the entire country.
Following the severe disruptions in the
industry in 2020 and 2021, the association's Chief Executive, Gitta Petzold
said they are now working on the HAN Congress, the Tourism Trade Forum and the
Tourism Gala. This 2-day combined event is scheduled tentatively for September
this year.