Representatives from Namibia Community Based Tourism Association (NACOBTA), Maxi Louis and Nizeth van der Meulen, will be visiting South Africa on an exchange visit with FTTSA from 26 February to 3 March.

The exchange is supported by the Green Development Foundation (GDF), a Dutch organisation whose mandate is to work towards poverty alleviation and to increase the possibilities and opportunities of development for marginalised social groups. To this end, GDF integrates environmental conservation measure with income generation.

NACOBTA is a non-profit membership organisation that supports communities in their efforts to develop tourism enterprises in Namibia. Through training, business advice, marketing, funding, advocacy, and operating a booking and information office, NACOBTA assists communities to generate income and employment through tourism. They aim to improve living standards amongst the communities of rural Namibia, ensuring that community based tourism enterprises (CBTEs) are viable and integrating community based tourism into the tourism sector.

Through this exchange visit, FTTSA hopes to learn from NACOBTA's experiences in development work. As FTTSA is a newer organisation and has plans to work more extensively with CBTEs, learning from NACOBTA's experiences in development work will be advantageous. In turn, NACOBTA hopes to explore the possiblilities of using certification and learn more about working with the private sector.

"This is an exciting opportunity to learn from a successful example of Community-Based Tourism development," says Jennifer Seif, National Coordinator of FTTSA. "The exchange will open up new possibilities for both organizations."

Contact NACOBTA at: +264 (0)61 250558 or visit www.nacobta.com.na.

Contact GDF at: +31 (0)20 421 8098 or visit www.antenna.nl/greendevelopment