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The 66th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Africa(CAF) has agreed to create bankable investment projects among African countries.
The decision was made during the meeting which held in Pointe Aux Piments, Mauritius, according to a statement issued by Naomi Mweemba, Zambia’s First Secretary for Press in France.
Mweemba said the meeting resolved that this would be done through embracing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement for increased value addition and to break barriers related to trade to foster the free movement of goods and services on the continent.
She said the conference proposed that the tourism sector needs to hold rich and abundant biodiversity and carbon credits to finance Africa’s tourism industry and the much-needed infrastructure for sustainable development.
“During a panel discussion on Rethinking Tourism Africa,the panelists collectively agreed on the need to develop creative and innovative strategies through private partnerships with the sector to finance infrastructure,” Mweemba said.
She said the conference also resolved to embrace digital technology and use the necessary tools to market their respective destinations and be better prepared any crises and develop a more resilient sector.
Zambia’s Tourism Minister, Rodney Sikumba, was among the high level delegates who participated at the conference aimed at addressing global challenges such as climate change, political instability, and economic fluctuations and its impact on African nations and the tourism sector.
Earlier, Sikumba called for enhanced collaboration in the tourism sector among African states in order to spur sustainable development.
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“Climate change has posed a challenge on nature based tourism which has increased pressure on protected areas from activities such as logging, deforestation, and damming,” Sikumba said.
He said there was need for people living near protected areas to seek alternative sources of livelihoods and refrain from unsustainable activities such as logging, deforestation, and damming.
Sikumba said such activities have increased pressure on nature based tourism coupled with the effects of climate change.
The UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa was held under the theme “Rethinking Tourism for Africa: Promoting Investment and Partnerships, Addressing Global Challenges.”
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