• The regional tourism ministers on Friday approved the regional Tourism Recovery Plan as a collective and coordinated approach towards tourism recovery
• The plan is aimed at reinforcing measures being developed and implemented at national levels
The EAC Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management has put in place a strategy to revive the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The regional tourism ministers approved the Tourism Recovery Plan as a collective and coordinated response on Thursday.
The plan is aimed at reinforcing measures being developed and implemented at national levels.
The meeting was chaired by Kenya’s Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.
Balala underscored the importance of member states working together to overturn the Covid-19 damage on the sector and recover.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has taught all of some really important lessons. For instance, domestic and regional tourism markets are really key and they can help in making the tourism sector resilient in case of future disasters and pandemics," Balala said.
"The pandemic has revealed we can use technology to connect with each other and have meetings such as this. It is, therefore, really important that we invest heavily in infrastructure and connectivity.”
EAC secretary general Peter Mathuki said tourism was one of the most important areas of cooperation owing to its contribution to the economies of the partner states in terms of GDP (about 10 per cent), export earnings (17 per cent) and jobs (about seven per cent).
“Its multiplier effect and linkages with other sectors that are instrumental in our integration such as agriculture, transport and manufacturing are quite immense. However, the travel and tourism sector, globally, was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic more than any other economic sector,” Mathuki noted.
“Based on statistics reported by the partner states, as a region, we lost close to 70 per cent of international tourist arrivals in 2020 coupled with massive losses in tourism earnings and tourism-related jobs.”
Among the strategic actions are to develop regionally and internationally competitive multi-destination tourism products; position and market EAC as a leading regional tourism destination in Africa; brand East Africa as a leading tourism destination; enhance the marketing policy and institutional framework; and enhance tourism marketing and promotion financing.
Mathuki said signs this year are still bleak given the recurrent waves of the virus that result in the imposition of unpredictable measures and restrictions by governments around the world.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of the productive and social sectors Christophe Bazivamo said strengthening intra-regional tourism was now imperative given the segment was resilient and likely to recover faster than the overseas markets.
“Bolstering of both domestic and regional tourism can help keep the tourism industry afloat therefore sustaining the much-needed jobs and income along the entire tourism value chain,” Bazivamo said.
Some EAC partner states, including Kenya, have started putting in place measures such as the formulation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting the sector, supporting tourism investments and vaccination.
Kenya on Friday co-hosted the Africa Tourism Recovery Summit in Nairobi with Saudi Arabia. The meeting sought to examine ways of future collaboration, knowledge sharing and closer partnerships to revitalise tourism in Africa.
Kenya donated Sh10 million to the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre at Kenyatta University during the summit. Kenya also signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia, on partnership, collaboration and cooperation in tourism development and promotion between the two destinations.
In April this year, Balala said the ministry was formulating a strategy to drive the post-Covid-19 tourism recovery.
He noted vaccination is a major step towards the resumption of activities in the tourism sector.
The EAC ministers also approved the draft regional guidelines for resumption of services in the tourism sector and hospitality establishments.
Among the strategic actions are to develop regionally and internationally competitive multi-destination tourism products; position and market EAC as a leading regional tourism destination in Africa; brand East Africa as a leading tourism destination; enhance the marketing policy and institutional framework; and enhance tourism marketing and promotion financing.
The ministers also agreed to establish an annual EAC Regional Tourism Expo to improve the visibility of the region and market it as a single tourist destination. Tanzania will hosts the first EARTE in October.
The ministers who attended the meeting included Rizik Zakaria (South Sudan), Tom Butime (Uganda) and Damas Ndumbaro (Tanzania).
Others were Tourism PS Ambassador Jérémie Banigwaninzigo, and Rwanda Development Board Deputy CEO Zephanie Niyonkuru.