As Scenery Guest House in Maseru East celebrates its first anniversary on the 8th of November 2009, thousands around the world will be able to simply click away to find out information about it. The Guest House that boasts 11 rooms, with the capacity to accommodate 22 people, is owned by ‘Marethabile Sekhiba.

She is passionate about business, and even more passionate about tourism.

She says it was a blessing to find out about LEAP when her family had gone through a highly capital intensive phase of building the establishment. “Even today we are still subsidizing the business with our own money because our flow of clients is not yet stable, and the industry goes through peak and off-peak periods.” She says

LEAP has now committed to fund 60% of a more than twenty thousand Maloti marketing exercise that includes brochures, outdoor signage and a website. “Our biggest problem was that our target market, people from outside the country, did not know that we are an option, but since we put up the signage at the border we get inquiring phone calls.”

The website went live in the middle of September, and by the end of the month it had 33 visits. Sekhiba says the next step is to list with search engines such as Google. She says their next priorities include beefing-up security, paving and making the garden more attractive.

“We want to benchmark ourselves on South African grading standards to ensure that we qualify for opportunities in 2010.”

As the spectacular nears, deadline doors keep closing on opportunities for Lesotho to benefit. When a team from MATCH, a FIFA appointed company that is securing accommodation in neighbouring countries, visited Lesotho recently they found that establishments had neither local nor international grading.

This could mean that they will be excluded, or find it difficult to get clients when their standards are not clear. Debates are still continuing between tourism authorities and stakeholders on the modalities of grading for Lesotho.

However Sekhiba says she is reluctant to blame government for the delay.

“I don’t really like complaining about government. As business we are still letting the country lose revenue even from tourists who are already in the country. In Botha-Bothe we are still not providing services that ensure that tourists going to the Mahlasela ski resort spend some money in the country. We have to be more aggressive, and lead the way in showing how well tourism can do.” – ‘Marethabile Sekhiba.

Scenery Guest House brochures will form part of a portfolio of establishments that will be represented as the Lesotho Hotels and Hospitality Association participates at a tourism Trade Fair in Cape Town, South Africa, at the end of October.