47
Innovators
Our most important market is business travelers
coming to Lusaka. As there is major expansion in
the building sector we are attracting guest stays
of sometimes up to three months.
Another very important sector is bookings done
online through online travel agents, or OTA’s.
More and more travelers book online and we are
seeing a marked growth in this sector.
The hotel offers a variety of facilities such as our
varied conference rooms and our very popular
Ballroom, so the MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Con-
ferences and Events) market is also a key sector.
We bel
iev
e that innov
ation is a k
ey
factor for
the dev
el
opment of a country
.
What w
oul
d y
ou
say
it has been or it is g
oing
to be y
our inno-
v
ation in Zambia?
The key to contributing to Zambian innovation
is through training and guiding the people in the
right direction. We as a hotel assist many innova-
tive organizations with sponsorships and hosting
of events.
Our biggest impact has been sport, with us being
a major sponsor of World Boxing Champion
Esther Phiri. We also support some of the top
Football Teams.
Another area where we have contributed largely
has been in the Music Industry where we were
the major sponsor of “Dreams Zambia” which is
Zambia’s answer to Pop Idols. We also hosted
the Miss Zambia pageant and the winner now
works for us.
From a personal
perspectiv
e,
l
ook
ing
at y
our
professional
back
g
round w
e hav
e found a
l
ong
time experience in the hospital
ity
indus-
try
.
When y
ou l
ook
back
ov
er the y
ears,
w
hat
do y
ou feel
most proud of?
For many years I was the international marke-
ting director for a hotel chain and traveled to all
the major travel shows around the world and did
many roadshows. This gave me an opportunity
to represent Southern Africa and to show case
it to the world. It was very rewarding when the
tourism growth was influenced directly by my per-
sonal efforts.
Credit: Lusak
a G
rand H
otel
Grand Lusaka Hotel, Pool view
