As businesses that cater for Hollywood A-listers and royalty from all over the world, hospitality establishments in the Okavango Delta have exceptionally high international standards. However, as a Private Sector Development Programme report notes, all too often these establishments are misaligned with their immediate locale. “One challenge for the tourism value chain is the mismatch between product quality and customer expectations. In the Okavango Delta and Kasane destinations, the qual¬ity of the accommodation product and experiences (i.e. particularly safaris) is high. However once one leaves the hotel or lodge, the quality of product and services drops significantly,” says a tourism value chain analysis plan that was developed for PSDP by European consultants. That is indeed the case and using Shakawe as an example, there is a yawning gap between accommodation product and experiences of Drotsky Cabins and the quality of services and products in the village. Customer service standards at Drotsky, which is a little way off the Shakawe-Maun road, are First World-high enough to make one delude himself into thinking he is a king. On the other hand, if that person goes into the village and through local shops, he is immediately dethroned and (literally) gets a rude awakening…
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