The Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism Hon. John Ololtuaa has urged African States to collaborate in ensuring that the tourism sector is anchored sustainably through enhanced education, skills, and strategic investments that allow growth and facilitate strategic investments in tourism as well as ensure safety of destinations.
PS Ololtuaa was speaking at the 67th Meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) and the Brand Africa and Tourism Think Tank where Kenya is a Co-Vice Chair. Hon. Ololtuaa joined other tourism leaders in discussing transforming Africa’s Future through education, skills and strategic investments in Tourism for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.
Key among the issues addressed included the current barriers to attracting investment in tourism education and capacity building in Africa and opportunities that can improve the attractiveness to the diverse tourism offering in Africa.
Notable was the need to incorporate in UN Tourism’s strategic plans synergies between education and employment in the tourism sector. These initiatives are designed to not only develop a highly skilled workforce but also to stimulate innovation, advance sustainable practices, and drive economic growth within the industry.
The PS reiterated on the need for government policies, incentives and initiatives that will attract and sustaining tourism investment. “We are happy to be part of the deliberations that challenge us to attract more investment into Africa,” Ololtuaa stated.
“In Kenya, we have seen the consistent entry into the market of international hotel chains — the latest being JW Marriot that opened its doors to Kenya earlier this year. We encourage our governments to avail policies that will advantage the tourism sector in upscaling skills, tapping investment and keeping our destinations safe,” the PS added.
The meeting deliberated on key issues aimed at enhancing Africa’s competitiveness through enhanced reputation of member states as safe and welcoming destinations, improved law enforcement capabilities in handling tourism-related incidents, strengthened collaboration between tourism stakeholders in boosting tourist arrivals and economic benefits for local communities as well as developing of prevention, information and alert systems.
Currently, the global tourism recovery to pre pandemic levels is at 96%, with that of Africa at 98 % as per the 2023 numbers. African destinations such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Morocco have showcased remarkable growth, with impressive growth in visitor numbers far surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Africa, a continent endowed with rich cultural diversity, stunning landscapes, and a wealth of natural resources, presents unparalleled opportunities for tourism.
Arrivals to Kenya from Africa stand at 41% compared to 29% from Europe reflecting the growing number of Africans choosing to experience destinations within the continent. This has been enhanced by the scrapping of visa requirements in favour of an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to ease access for travelers including those from the African continent.
Tourism is considered one of the leading employers in the world. By 2019, the sector had generated 7% of global trade and employed one in 10 people worldwide, especially women and youth thus a key economic driver.
The annual forum provides a platform for Africa member states of the UN Tourism to come together to shape the future of tourism in our continent. It also provides an opportunity to address topics of a critical nature for the continent, including sustainability (especially given the impact of climate change), inclusiveness, air connectivity, development of tourism infrastructure, human resources in the tourism sector, digitalization and product diversification
UN Tourism Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, encouraged the African states to continue to tap in to the support the organisation is extending to destinations to develop investment guidelines.
