In Swakopmund, Namibia there is a modern, eight-bedroom Guest House with sea views for sale at N$4.84 million.  In Windhoek there is another Guest House on the market for N$6.3 million.  For residential real estate agent Susanne Jaspert these properties have special requirements - an understanding of the Travel & Tourism industry in Namibia generally, and in Swakopmund and Windhoek specifically, and a need to attract a unique buyer, someone interested in investing in a Travel & Tourism business rather than in a residential property.

In North-west Gauteng, South Africa, the Gauteng Provincial Government is forming a public-private partnership to develop four orientation centres for visitors to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs.  According to the South Africa Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the partnership is seeking +/- R20 million per orientation centre to be financed by government for capital expenditure with land donations being finalized and an investor conference to be held.
  
Like the Guest Houses in Namibia, the investment opportunity in North-west Gauteng depends on the current state and future outlook for Travel & Tourism in the province specifically and in South Africa generally.
  
The challenge for these projects is how to attract investors.  For potential investors it is how to find out about these opportunities and then gather the information necessary to make informed investment decisions.  Until now this has been difficult; even harder to compare one opportunity against others in the South African Development Community countries, or in Africa generally, much less against opportunities around the world.
  
This situation is the motivation for TourismROI, a new and innovative online management and investment resource covering the global Travel & Tourism industry.  The site www.TourismROI.com provides a centralized solution for growing tourism economies, real estate developers, industry operators, investors and entrepreneurs, bridging the information gap between unknown tourism potential and informed business and investment decisions.
  
Typically, government agencies and tourism ministries have embarked on expensive and exhausting processes to find the right partners for tourism investment and development.  Similarly, investors and developers have employed professional staff and large consulting firms to identify new business opportunities, scouring the world for perspective to analyze the latest trends, policies, statistics, incentives and forecasts from diverse and hard-to-find sources.
    
With the launch of TourismROI, investors and developers now have unparalleled access to destination-specific tourism business information including strategy and master plans, operating plans and programs, tourism research and investment incentives, reports and analysis.  The site also hosts timely news and events and provides links to current publications, reports and statistics from local, regional and global Travel & Tourism organizations, plus private consulting and research firms.
  
“At its core, TourismROI is a global B2B information and networking service for more than 12,000 tourism destinations around the world, sharing a wealth of information and offering a wide range of tools that speed up the entire business decision-making process,” explains Richard R. Miller, CEO & Managing Partner of TourismROI. “We’re excited about what TourismROI can do for global tourism; this is a whole new ball game.”
  
TourismROI is a joint venture between Richard Miller, former Executive Vice President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (1991-2007), and MMG Worldwide, a US $100 million full-service global advertising and marketing firm with more than 25 years experience in the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries.