East African States Adopt Regional Tourism Recovery Plan |

The East African regional tourism ministers had met virtually under the chairmanship Kenyan Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala and all agreed to take recovery measures.

• The ministers agreed to adopt collective and coordinated approach targeting tourism recovery
• Plan calls for creation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting the sector.
• Plan calls for supporting tourism investments in the region including the small and micro enterprises.

East Africa Community Map by East Africa Business Week.jpg — Map Showing East Africa Community Member States; Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, East Africa Community Map by East Africa Business Week

Setting to recover from COVID-19 pandemic impacts on tourism and wildlife conservation, the East African regional states have designed and adopted Regional COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Plan that seeks to revive travel and tourism sector badly hit by the global pandemic.

The East African regional tourism ministers of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan had met virtually under the chairmanship Kenyan Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala and all agreed to take recovery measures.

Among such measures are the creation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting travel and tourism sector and supporting tourism investments in the region, including the small and micro enterprises.

The ministers also agreed to adopt collective and coordinated approach targeting tourism recovery that entails interventions aimed at reinforcing the measures being developed and implemented at national levels.

They further considered and approved the draft regional guidelines for resumption of services in the tourism sector and hospitality establishments.
While approving the guidelines, the ministers agreed that there was a need for East African Community harmonized guidelines for resumption of the tourism and hospitality services in the region.

The ministers noted that the regional guidelines would help in ensuring coherence in resumption of tourism services and help in rebuilding trust and confidence with international tourists visiting the region.

Among the strategic directions and the corresponding strategic actions in the East African Community’s tourism marketing strategy is the development of regionally and internationally competitive multi-destination tourism products.

The ministers also agreed to establish the annual East African Community Regional Tourism Expo (EARTE) with the aim of improving the visibility of the region and marketing it as a single tourist destination.

Other directions are the marketing of East Africa as a leading regional tourism destination in Africa, branding the East Africa as a leading tourism destination, and strengthening the marketing policy and institutional framework and enhancing East African regional tourism marketing and promotion financing.

The sectoral council decided that the United Republic of Tanzania will host the First East African Community Regional Tourism Expo in October this year.

The East African Community Regional Tourism Expo will be held in Tanzania’s northern tourist city of Arusha, according to country’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Damas Ndumbaro.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Balala, stressed the Partner States working together especially in addressing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector and in joint tourism recovery efforts.

Balala said that the pandemic had indicated the importance of building then developing domestic and regional tourism markets which are key and they can help in making the tourism sector resilient in case of future disasters and pandemics.

The pandemic has revealed that the EAC member states can use technology to connect with each other and have meetings through virtual interactions.

The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Dr Peter Mathuki said that the tourism sector was one of the most important areas of cooperation for East African Community, owing to its contribution to the economies of the Partner States.

Tourism in the East African Community hold about 10% of the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 17 percent export earnings and seven percent (7%) jobs creation.

“It is therefore really important that we invest heavily. Tourism multiplier effect and linkages with other sectors that are instrumental in our integration such as agriculture, transport and manufacturing are quite immense”, Dr. Mathuki said.

Travel and tourism sector was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic more than any other economic sector at the global level, he said.
Through recovery efforts initiated by partner states, it would really be helpful for the East African Community region to come together to implement joint actions aimed at the recovery of the sector as well as laying a strong foundation for its future development.

The East African Community regional ministers also considered and approved to draft regional tourism marketing strategy, which seeks to position the East African Community region as the best and most affordable regional tourism destination in Africa.

Strategies now in place under the East African Community regional tourism are greatly supported and encouraged by the African Tourism Board (ATB). The African Tourism Board is now working on developing, marketing and promoting the African continent as the world’s leading destination.
Among the Ministers who attended the meeting were Hon. Rizik Zakaria, Minister for Wildlife Conservation and Tourism (South Sudan), Hon. Tom R. Butime, MP, Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (Uganda) and Hon. Dr. Damas Ndumbaro, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism (Tanzania).

Others were Amb. Jérémie Banigwaninzigo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism (Burundi) and Mr. Zephanie Niyonkuru, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Development Board (Rwanda).

Original post was sourced from ETurboNews https://eturbonews.com/ on 25-Jul-2021.

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