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Lesotho Tourism

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• Regina Marankopane Thetsane 3  

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Council of Higher Education. Statistical bulletin. (2014/15). http://www.CHE.ac.ls/wpcontent/uploads/2019/02/HE-Statistical-Bulletin-2014-15.pdf . (19 April, 2020).

Lesotho GDP Per Capita (1960-2021). https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/LSO/lesotho/gdp-per-capita . (19 April, 2021).

Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation. (2019). Annual arrivals and accommodation statistics report. https://www.visitlesotho.travel/trade/tourism-statistics . (19 April, 2021).

Ministry of Tourism Environment and Culture. 2019. Review of tourism policy and legal framework and development of a national tourism master plan . Maseru: Lesotho Government.

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WTTC. (2019). Travel and tourism economic impact: World. London: World Travel and Tourism Council. https://www.slovenia.info/uploads/dokumenti/raziskave/raziskave/world2019.pdf . (8 April, 2020).

Yiu, L., R. Saner, and M. Lee. 2015. Lesotho, a tourism destination: Analysis of Lesotho’s current tourism products and potential for growth. In Handbook of research on global hospitality and tourism management , ed. A. Camillo. IGI Global: Harshey.

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Regina Marankopane Thetsane

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Honggen Xiao

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Thetsane, R.M. (2022). Lesotho Tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_654-3

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Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation

Lesotho, mountain Kingdom is the ultimate secret eco-tourism destination, a place to discover the wonderful mountain vistas and the culture of the Basotho people who inhabit these spectacular highlands. This is a land of contrast with modern facilities and easy access in the Maseru City and in the main towns.

As you venture further afield, you will yourself in a pristine, quiet and rugged natural environment with perhaps a herdsman and his small herd the only beings in sight.

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Lesotho : Tourism Insights

Through the variation of locations and activities, Lesotho has become a unique and exotic place to visit, and because of this, the tourism industry is essential to the Kingdom. 

The National Development Strategic Plan (NDSP II) has identified the industry as one of the four pillars that drive the economic growth of the country, and the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) is focused on reviving the sector in the wake of 2020.

LTDC is a parastatal organisation established in 2002, and its mandate is to develop and promote tourism in Lesotho. It is designed to provide leadership in the development of a strong and vibrant tourism industry which contributes to sustainable economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, and protection of the natural and cultural environment through effective partnership with the private sector and the community in strategic marketing, research, product development, quality tourism and hospitality services delivery and human resource development. Thus, its vision is to lead in successfully positioning Lesotho as Southern Africa’s must-visit mountain, culture, and adventure, and ecotourism destination.

We spoke to Sehlabaka Ramafikeng, interim CEO of the company, about the prospects of attracting more tourists to the Kingdom.

How do you market Lesotho as a destination?

Sehlabaka Ramafikeng (SR): LTDC is currently marketing and promoting tourism in Lesotho through digital marketing platforms such as our state-of-the-art website  www.visitlesotho.travel . This showcases all the Lesotho Tourism’s magnificent and breathtaking products, places to visit, where to stay, attractions, historic sites, culture and heritage, tourism investment opportunities, tour operators, accommodation, and all essential tourism information.

This tourism portal is linked to social media platforms that are being updated on a daily basis to interact with the audiences, such as daily tourism related activities posted on the company’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, and a newly developed Lesotho Tourism Guider Mobile App.

Due to hugely negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic to world travel patterns, the Kingdom of Lesotho has also suffered negatively like all other countries. Promotional efforts had to be implemented to continue create awareness and market Lesotho as a unique tourism destination locally by way of various platforms. The objectives are to showcase and educate the locals about tourism offerings in the country, to travel within the country and know more about places of interests but most importantly to spend money at those places of interests to uplift lives of the communities.

Through the joint marketing efforts and strategic partnership with a neighbouring South Africa, the Kingdom of Lesotho is a member of the Maluti Drakensberg Route (MDR) whose objectives is to jointly market and promotes the tourism products that are along the traverse route which go through Lesotho and South African provinces namely Eastern Free State, KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape Highlands. 

What are your organisation’s current goals?

(SR): With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, generally what is seems sure is that tourism in different country across the globe will rebound slowly and mainly through local travel. This is because travellers tend to venture out closer to home and travel locally in order to gain confidence to travel farther away from home countries. 

In our view, reopening and rebuilding tourism in this beautiful Kingdom in the sky calls for a joined-up approach. Thus, LTDC’s current goals include working together with businesses, government ministries and agencies to perfect and apply new health protocols for safe travel as well as to solicit support in whichever manner possible. By this we are aiming to restore travellers’ confidence as well as to stimulate demand for travel through our tourism promotion campaigns on social media. 

Further, we are also leveraging on this crisis that has been brought by the pandemic to focus on comprehensive tourism recovery plans which this time around encourages more innovation and investment in preparation for when the sector is fully open, up and running, simply put, we are busy rethinking tourism in Lesotho because we believe whatever we do today will shape the future of tourism in our country.

How do you promote off-season travel?

(SR): The corporation always ensure important element of strategic partnerships with the tourism private sector namely tour operators and events promoters. A rainy season which starts from October to the end of March, is a period where the country is green, has magnificent mountain scenery and filled man-made dams as the Kingdom of Lesotho has an abundance of water. There are lots of tourism related events which are promoted through social media platforms, billboards advertising, radio adverting and print advertising. The most attended activities during off-season period include motorcycling race (world renowned Roof of Africa Rally), hiking, abseiling, water sports, music festivals.

Are there any projects in the pipeline you wish to highlight?

(SR): Semonkong Visitor Comfort Facility.

The Corporation is currently constructing the state-of-the-art tourism facility which is being developed with a view to establish a meeting place for the tour operators and tourists together with the tour guides and the Semonkong community. This is the platform for the host community to create income making opportunities as thus enhance their livelihoods whilst the tourists experience is improved. This magnificent, breathtaking facility is overlooking at the Maletsunyane Falls which is the highest single drop waterfall in Southern Africa (192 metres) and it is also the highest commercial abseiling cliff in the world (206 metres).

Why, in your opinion, should somebody visit Lesotho?

(SR): Lesotho is a true African country, but there are some things which elevate it – literally – above many others. Its lowest point is 305 metres, the highest on the continent, and it also has the highest average height of any country in the world. Not surprising then that it also has the highest commercial abseil (in excess of 300 metres), the highest pub in Africa and the highest single drop waterfall in Southern Africa. 

As one moves towards the southern and eastern sides, Lesotho becomes more and more beautiful. The country is generally clean, once away from the towns, and the sky stretches away forever with the most beautiful clouds reaching up to incredible heights, casting showers in the far distance. Little streams cascade down mountainsides, and rivers wind around foothills and mountains, forming fantastic gorges to marvel at. Spectacular sunsets are the order of the day as one often looks down on the clouds. Apart from the stunning scenery, and challenging off-roading, it is a pleasure to see how contour farming is the norm throughout Lesotho.

What a great country Lesotho is for tourism. We have reason to be proud inhabitants of this land not only because it draws its tourism appeal from the beauty of its physical landscape. Our pride derives also from the fact that the appeal of this country as a tourism destination comes as much from its physical beauty as it does from the people. Our friendliness, humility and general hospitality make us a refreshing compliment to the beautiful landscape of our country.

What are some of the country’s most unique landmarks?

(SR):  

·      It is the only country in the world whose territory lies 1,500 metres above sea level.

·      The Katse Dam wall stands 185 metres, making it one of the tallest man-made structures in the continent of Africa and highest dam in Africa.

·      Lesotho has the longest and the highest bridge in the Southern hemisphere.

·      The country is aptly dubbed the ‘Roof of Africa’ and the ‘edge of the world’ because of its altitude.

·      It is home to the world’s highest pub at the Sani Top Chalet (2874 metres above sea level).

·      Thabana Ntlenyana is the highest peak in Southern Africa (3482 metres).

·      Lesotho is the highest lowest point in the world in terms of altitude.

·      The Maletsunyane Falls is the highest single drop waterfall in Southern Africa (192 metres).

·      It is also the highest commercial abseiling cliff in the world (206 metres).

·      Lesotho’s monarchy is the highlight of our culture and a major draw card.  Being one the last three monarchs in the world to-day, this by itself is an attraction that if properly packaged and marketed can generate enormous interest from innovative entrepreneurs.

·      Afriski Mountain Resort is an ‘all year, all mountain’ destination in the heart of the Drakensberg- Maluti Mountains, in Lesotho. It is one of two ski resorts in Southern Africa and attracts ten thousand visitors over the winter season each year. The highest Ski Resort in Africa.

Are you optimistic about the future of the tourism industry of Lesotho?

(SR): The reality is that tourism has been hard hit by this pandemic and when it restarts, it will be under new operating procedure and protocols, including different travel restrictions that will be or are already being applied by many countries, which will most probably influence travellers’ behaviour and decisions. As the industry starts to reopen, we might note shorter booking windows and less spends and more but it is not all doom and gloom because with the current work on rebuilding tourism in Lesotho, which includes getting the stakeholders to understand what has changed and what will be the best direction for the industry to grow even better, we are optimistic that soon enough, tourism in Lesotho will regain its position or become even better, through new found appreciation from the world.

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The Current State of the Tourism Sector and Prospects for Development 

Lesotho’s tourism sector is one of the most untapped industries of the country despite the vast high rising mountain ranges and adorable plateaus, steep gorges and valleys. These are home to some of the endangered bird species as well as crystal clear waterways that mingle the basalt and sandstones hills that form the picturesque formations of some of the oldest land forms of the world.

Lesotho boasts a wide range of tourism attractions from mountain hiking, pony trekking, climbing, and many other adrenalin pumping activities such as water sports with white water rafting along the dangerous downstream descents, mountain biking, off-road motor and biking experiences as well as 4×4 trails which have recently gained popularity amongst those who want to test their driving abilities and vehicular horse-power. Most of all, Lesotho also offers several rare opportunities to its visitors such as snow in winter, archaeological sites that share the mysteries of the past, from the dinosaur era and beyond and historical sites that tells the stories of the evolution of modern-day society and the making of the Southern African nations…

The sector, though not so well developed in terms of infrastructure and visibility on the international market space, is slowly catching up. Had it not been for the Covid-19-induced setbacks in the past two years– a lot of initiatives that were already taking shape would have materialised.

Investors coming into Lesotho’s tourism industry would be happy to learn that the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) has crafted a new strategy that will make it much easier and more lucrative for them to set up businesses in the country.

Among the new measures is the drafting of Vision 2030, a new strategic policy document that is expected to bring significant improvements to how tourism sector operates. Some of the new measures include the establishment of a tourism levy, a new branding and marketing approach, more emphasis on sustainable tourism and a raft of other measures.

Tourism in Lesotho is expected to bounce back to sustainability levels that were experienced during the pre-Covid days, various players in the industry say. Like most countries around the world, Lesotho’s tourism industry was hard hit by the outbreak of the global pandemic between January 2020 and early 2022 and it is only recently that the sector has been showing signs of recovery – thanks to a moderate increase in international arrivals and a boost in domestic tourism.

Lesotho’s most popular holiday resorts include Bokong Nature Reserve in Leribe, Sehlabathebe National Park in Qacha’s Nek and Tšehlanyane National Park in Leribe, under which the five-star Maliba Lodge is housed and the Kome Caves Dwelling in Berea.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Authority-managed Katse Dam in Thaba Tseka and Mohale Dam in Maseru district form part of the gigantic water reservoirs that have brought huge opportunities for water activity tourism in Lesotho.  The spectacular 192-metre Maletsunyane Waterfall, one of Africa’s tallest in Semonkong, Maseru district, adds to the water features of Lesotho’s tourism sites.

Quthing district is known for its dinosaur footprints and the Masitise Cave House, a unique dwelling built by a French missionary in 1866. The Mount Moorosi range, that overlooks Senqu (Orange) River, also in Quthing, makes a perfect spot for hikers and nature lovers alike.

Afriski Mountain Lodge and Resort at Ox Bow in Butha-Buthe is regarded as the highest of Southern Africa’s only two ski resorts (the other is Tiffindell Ski Resort in South Africa). It offers skiing during midwinter (June to August) and activities such as mountain biking and hiking at other times.

The other popular tourism destination is the Sani Top resort at Sani Pass on the Lesotho-South African border atop the Thabana Ntlenyana mountain range. Perched at 2 874 metres, Sani Top offers wonderful hiking opportunities and is the setting for Africa’s highest pub found on the Lesotho side.

Apart from the main tourism sites, places such as Thaba Bosiu just about 40 km out of Maseru city, offers historical tourism facilities at the founder of the Basotho nation, King Moshoeshoe I’s grave as well as the adjacent Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village that offers conference and accommodation facilities.

Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, is surrounded by some of the country’s best selection of hotels, restaurants and other leisure places and so are other major towns in the country’s 10 districts. In a nutshell, there is something for the discerning tourist in every city, town or district of Lesotho.

Before the advent of Covid-19, Lesotho had recorded more than 1.1 million visitors in 2019 and most of them had come from the neighbouring South Africa and other parts of Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. When Covid hit, the borders and inbound travel routes were closed down and so were the tourism facilities in the country, leading to loss of jobs and revenue for the industry.

Now the LTDC is working with the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Culture, and other partners in quasi-government and the private sector to revive the industry.

In 2019, the LTDC produced an annual Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) – a detailed overview of the trends in tourism for the year prior and projections for the year ahead – with support from Statistics South Africa. The TSA is a barometer for analysing tourism trends in any country in the world and Lesotho was privileged to have produced the ‘Annual Arrivals and Accommodation Report 2019’ for this purpose.

However, the LTDC is currently not in a position to produce a TSA anytime soon due to limited funds since it requires a variety of information inputs, some of which require resources to undertake specific industry surveys.  The LDTC would be sharing its vision and projections as part of its Vision 2030 document coming soon.

In the ‘Annual Arrivals and Accommodation Report 2019’ , the LNDC has indicated that tourism has been adopted as a one of the sectors that would foster acceleration of economic growth and development under the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP I & II).

According to the report, Lesotho welcomed 1 142 381 visitors in 2019 representing a slight decline of -2.6 percent compared to the previous year when there were a total of 1 172 648 inbound travellers. Although there was a decline, the report says, visitor arrivals during the year had been encouraging.

After witnessing drops in the first and last quarter of the year, figures still denote that Lesotho enjoyed a consistent growth of visitor arrivals where there was a concentrated peak in March (92 941), April (98 025) and June (93 176) respectively. Moreover, during the same year some slight increases in visitor arrivals from all continents except for Africa were also observed.

By analysing rankings of Lesotho’s source markets in 2019, the report noted that South Africa remained Lesotho’s main source market accounting for 88.4% percent of the total arrivals. This translates to 1 009 982 arrivals.

Visitors from Zimbabwe came second to South Africa with 20 407 recorded during the year while USA claimed third place (9 239) and outperformed Germany (8 957) and Netherlands (8 177).

In terms of accommodation statistics, the report notes that while the number of operational establishments decreased slightly (by seven establishments), the occupancy rate increased slightly, up (by 0.2%) to 20%.

Despite showing early signs of decline, the industry continued to create jobs and fostered economic growth; the subsector directly employed 2 371 people in 2019, which was a decrease of -15% against the previous year (2 717).

The report projected that Lesotho was poised for more growth beyond 2019 in terms of the tourist arrivals, accommodation and employment statistics in the sector  had it not been for the outbreak of the pandemic.

It also demonstrated that due to Lesotho’s heavy reliance on South Africa for visitors, a marked decrease in arrivals from the neighbouring country led to a significant decline in the year under review.

While employment also declined marginally in the accommodation sub-sector, figures released show that tourism still contributed positively towards the economy by employing local people. A huge improvement was also seen where most the employees were now skilled versus unskilled labour and of these 58% were female while 42% were male.

The report notes that accommodation establishments recorded revenues of M414 million in the year under review, which was a slight decline compared to the previous year. The major drivers for revenues for accommodation in 2019 were hotels, lodges, guest houses and bed and        breakfast establishments.

LTDC attributes the decline in accommodation revenues to the probability to reports of an imminent global disease that was beginning to spread across the world towards the end of the year as Covid-19 was beginning to affect visitors from South Africa, its major source market.

Other players in the sector agree that tourism is on a rebound after the two-year debacle when the industry and all other economic clusters in Lesotho were fighting the effects of the pandemic.

One such an initiative was the re-establishment of the Lesotho Council for Tourism (LCT) on 17 March 2022 when representatives of 13 tourism and hospitality associations gathered in Maseru to formalise the LCT as a body that will contribute to the growth of the industry, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the LTDC.

The organisations under the banner of the LCT include tour operators and guides associations; hotels and hospitality establishments; parks and wildlife association; catering and liquor services providers; event management companies, chefs’ associations; hiking clubs, travel agents and other outdoor activities’ players.

The re-establishment of the LCT was a show of confidence by the LTDC in local tourism industry practitioners to the growth of the industry.  The previous council, which lay dormant since its establishment in 2009 was due to lack of funding and commitment from its members as well as the government and LTDC.  The new LCT has now set itself towards the capacitation and skills development of local players in the industry. This intervention is crucial to enable sector players to offer value-for-money services to tourists from Lesotho and other countries.

The Lesotho Tour Operators Association has also welcomed the re-establishment of the LCT saying the existence of such a body was long overdue. Tour operators have expresses hope that once capacitated, players in the sector would contribute meaningfully to the country’s GDP as much as their counterparts in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and elsewhere in the world.

Local tour operators have also found a niche market within the domestic tourism sector that has seen a marked increase in the number of Basotho opting for domestic tourism towards the end of 2021 and into the festive season.   The rise in domestic tourism is attributable to Covid 19 restrictions, which pushed both local demand and supply upon realising that local establishments had to rely on the local market for sustenance due to restrictions on the international travel. Similarly, Basotho holidaymakers responded positively and provided them more opportunities to appreciate the beauty of their country.

The promotion of domestic tourism is best exemplified, by Costa Rica in South America that moved all its holidays in 2020 and 2021 to Mondays to enable Costa Ricans to enjoy long weekends while they travelled domestically as one of the ways through which government could incentivise tourism, local tour operators have advised the government and other responsible authorities to be more proactive towards the sector by adopting such measures.

Lesotho has several tour operators who provide tour services for groups, families or individuals who wish to travel to any leisure facility around the country. They offers day or weekend excursions depending on budget and various tour packages on offer. Some are also organising trips for Basotho going out of Lesotho to other destinations such as Durban and Cape Town in South Africa, as well as Botswana and Namibia, which also gives them more exposure on how tourism operates in other countries.

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The Lesotho Insights™ is a publication for Lesotho by Basotho. Now in its second edition, Lesotho Insights™ is an annual coffee table book that has been endorsed by the Government of Lesotho through the Ministry of Finance as the official review of the state of Lesotho’s economy and prospects in the new financial year.

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By T ṧ eliso T ṧ osane

The Lesotho Tourism Development Cooperation (LTDC) yesterday launched the Lesotho Council for Tourism, an institution established with the aimed of improving the tourism industry in Lesotho.  

The Lesotho Council for Tourism was initially formed in 1996 after the government realized that the tourism industry was one of the sectors that can improve the country’s economy and create jobs in Lesotho.

However, it could not quite take off and it was eventually registered in October last year, with the help of a consultant from Uganda who is currently in the country for five days to provide training to board members.

The board is made up of 13 members who have long term experience in the tourism industry; they are drawn from the Lesotho Hotel and Hospitality Association, the Tour Operators Association of Lesotho, Thapoha Hiking Club, Lesotho Liquor and Restaurant Association, Association of Travel agent of Lesotho, Lesotho Recreational Parks Association, Lesotho Chefs Association, Serite Sa Makhoane, Events Association and Tour Guide Association.

Speaking at the event that was held at the ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre, LCT chairman Makhetha Motṧoari said the council is entrusted with ensuring that the tourism sector funds capacity building of stakeholders, and seeks to maintain harmony between LDTC and LCT.

He also indicated that the LCT will conduct proper research on laws that need to be formulated to benefit and improve the tourism industry.

“The task of LCT will be to facilitate investment in and outside the country. It will also serve as a bridge between the government through the ministry of tourism and the tourism sector.

“This body will strengthen partnership and dialogue among members of the private sector involved in tourism.”

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The mandate of the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture is to improve tourism in Lesotho by making Lesotho a tourism destination of choice, through management of environment, conservation and development of cultural heritage and by improving the reading culture amongst locals.

In order to fulfil the requirements of the mandate, MTEC performs the following functions:

• Promotes and develops tourism as a generator for economic growth;
• Promotes and manages cultural and natural resources for national development;
• Promotes reading culture among Basotho;
• Educates community about importance of tourism, environment and culture;
• Coordinates implementation of national environmental programmes;

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Lesotho has spectacular scenery and potential for eco-tourism.  The rugged countryside makes Lesotho ideal for off-road sports. The country hosts the Roof of Africa motorcycle rally annually and has introduced other annual events such as the Maletsunyane Falls braai festival and the Lesotho sky cycling event.  Lesotho is home to the world’s longest commercial single-drop abseil and Sub-Saharan Africa’s only ski resort.  In addition, Lesotho has good air and road connections with South Africa and is working to improve internal infrastructure, such as roads, to accommodate the tourism industry.  South Africa draws large numbers of international tourists, creating an opportunity to attract side-trips to Lesotho.

The tourism industry is actively promoted by the Lesotho government, and a number of hotels, mountain lodges and national parks have been developed in recent years. The Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC), a government agency responsible for promotion of tourism, supports tourism sector investment and offers limited incentives to  investors.

Tourism Sub-Sector Best Prospects                                                               

• Boating Excursions on Dams, Canoeing, and other Recreational Activities
• Accommodation Facilities and Resort Developments
• Ski-resorts, Equipment, and Related Services 

Opportunities         

The tourism sector stands to benefit from the LHWP as existing and prospective LHWP dams create a notable opportunity for water sports and recreational activities.  Another major feature of the country is altitude; Lesotho is the only country in the world which lies entirely 1000m above sea level.  Thus, Lesotho is an ideal location to develop high altitude sports training facilities.  There is also an opportunity in the hotel industry – Lesotho is under-supplied with accommodation facilities of appropriate standards, particularly at key tourism sites.  Most tourists from South Africa cross into Lesotho for day trip, only to go back to accommodations in South Africa. 

Resources  

Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation: http://visitlesotho.travel/ltdc

Afriski: https://afriski.net/

Contacts 

Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation 

P.O.Box 

Tel: (266) 22312238