Moroke Sekoboto
The second edition of the Lesotho Gin & Trout Tourism Festival, a premier food and beverage tourism festival, is set to take place next month, with the camping experience kicking off at Mohale Dam from 8-10 December followed by the jamboree itself on 16 December.
Organized by Experisense, the festival is the only premier food and beverage tourism festival in the country.
The Gin & Trout festival, which kicked off in 2019, offers an amazing gin tasting experience.
Experisense spokesperson, Ts’oanelo Makeka, said they were looking forward to the second edition of the festival after its sequels were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first edition hosted at Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village and Khutsong Lodge had been a success with two foreign gin houses participarting. The rest were local.
“We have resumed with the festival now that Covid 19 is a thing of the past and we have come back with a bit of flavour to remind those who participated in the maiden event of the good time they enjoyed and to attract others who will be attending for the first time.
“We were excited to see the positive response, we had six gin stalls, eight food stalls and were overwhelmed by the rapid growth as 90% of our vendors sold out.”
He added: “That was a fantastic event that gave value to those who participated in it. Our motto is ‘Lesotho Gin & Trout Tourism Festival is the Spirit of the Kingdom’, and this years’ theme is ‘Let the Spirit Move You’.”
He said this year’s event will be split into two with a focus on encouraging domestic tourism.
“We have a camping experience in Mohale from 8 – 10 December ….We want to accommodate more people in a relaxed set up…We expect all Mohale residents to benefit as we are inviting people from all over southern Africa to come and join the camping experience,” Mr Makeka said.
“The gates will be open from 3pm on Friday 8 December….We want people to see that Lesotho can host a world class tourism event that can attract tourists from all over the world. We have an arrangement with the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) who asked us to do this event there…..It is our plan to do this camping experience every year.”
The follow up event on 16 December will take place at Botleng Guest House and will feature eight different gin houses and five to six high class food stalls, where trout would be prepared in various ways, each with a distinctive taste of high-quality.
“We partnered with Nedbank and Stanlib Bank, each sponsoring one VIP section…. People who would have bought those VIP tickets are going to be hosted by them (Nedbank and Stanlib). It is an exciting opportunity for people who want to network, rubbing shoulders with some of the most successful people in the country. But even attendees with general tickets will enjoy the best experience with wonderful music in amazing company,” Mr Makeka said.
“Some of the gins that will be available include, Gin Buttomi, Senate Gin, Kingdom Gin, which is a surprise gin that will be launched at the festival, Native Gin, and others. We have a beautiful country, but our tourists don’t stay because there are no events that make them stay longer in the country.
“We can’t rely only on tourist attraction sites to promote Lesotho because we have met with many tourists who say they like Lesotho but there are no events that make them stay longer. So as Exprisense we want to keep tourists in the country by giving them the experience they can’t get elsewhere in the world.
“Lesotho is a wonderful destination but as promoters and events organisers, we must create events that are unique and that speak to our heritage. We opted for gin and trout because our trout is of high quality and is consumed globally. So people want to know where this trout comes from….”
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