In a bid to find a sustainable way to reinvigorate the tourism sector in view of its impact in Africa, tourism ministers from the Gambia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia have held a summit to fashion out ways to rebuild the sector in the continent.
The summit which was held in Nairobi, had in attendance the Gambian Minister of Tourism and Culture, Honourable Hamat N.K. Bah, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife of the Republic of Kenya and Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to thepoint.gm, the meeting held at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, is a sequel to the Tourism Recovery Summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May, 2021.
READ: Africa: Gambia, UNWTO to explore opportunities to drive tourism growth
The high-level summit focused on the new era of the tourism sector with ways of rebuilding the African tourism sector that is negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the opportunity for stronger partnerships between African countries and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to mitigate those effects.
The summit brings together select group of policymakers to provide the space to explore tangible opportunities for collaboration and deliberate innovative solutions to successfully restart the tourism industry.
As there is an urgent and pressing need to improve the capacity of operators in the tourism and hospitality value-chain, with a focus on youth and women segments of our communities, thus it could be recalled that the African Union Ministerial Declaration on Air Transport and Tourism as well as Tourism Ministerial declaration in Lusaka, Kinshasa, Lome and Nairobi (2017) acknowledged that it is the responsibility of Africa states to promote and protect the African Brand Market international.
Therefore, the Nairobi Action Plan for Africa Tourism Recovery calls on Ministers responsible for tourism in Africa to take the lead and initiate appropriate actions in their respective governments on the following action plan; vaccination, break barriers for travel within Africa, sustainability and biodiversity conservation, refocus on tourism and its recovery, youth tourism, special fund for tourism, Africa as a domestic market, investment in human capital development and conducive environment.
