COMESA tourism, wildlife, heritage handbook launched
The Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA) launched The COMESA Tourism & Wildlife Heritage Handbook; Single Market – Countless destinations at the 41st World Tourism Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda.
The handbook is part of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Strategic Framework, which has been recognised by member states as a model to develop national tourism action plans to boost competitiveness. According to COMESA, the initiative will advocate for responsible business practices and environmental sustainability.
Collectively the 19 COMESA member nations offer “a diversity of flora and fauna, culture, species of animals and birds, historical sites and unforgettable experiences”. According to COMESA, the new 62-page publication is expected to help boost tourism to the region, raise awareness of the unique regional offerings, and encourage COMESA member states to “develop stronger linkages through public-private and private-private solutions on attracting more tourists”.
COMESA Business Council (CBC) Chairperson Dr Amany Asfour said: “This tourism handbook is a tool to market the region as a single destination that offers sights and sounds that are of quality, affordable and also informative of our cultures and histories of Africa.
“It is about cultural diversity, [the] richness of our heritage, our tourist attractions, infrastructure development and investment. It covers the Indian Ocean islands and countries on the mainland. [And] it is about our intra-cultural integration.”
She added that tourism is an inclusive business that affects all sectors of society; that men, women and youths will not be left out as Africa and COMESA work at growing local tourism.
The CBC Chair urged COMESA governments to pay close consideration to local tourism by coming up with affordable products that will increase inbound tourism in the region.
What is COMESA?
The Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA) region represents 42.6% of Africa’s population, 36.5% of its surface area, and 27.2% of Africa’s GDP. Average GDP growth rate has been 4.89% for the past five years. In 2016, COMESA attracted investment of around $19.6million.
COMESA’s vision is to “be a fully integrated, internationally competitive regional economic community with high standards of living for all its people ready to merge into an African Economic Community”.
Its mission is to “endeavour to achieve sustainable economic and social progress in all Member States through increased co-operation and integration in all fields of development particularly in trade, customs and monetary affairs, transport, communication and information, technology, industry and energy, gender, agriculture, environment and natural resources”.
COMESA Secretariat’s mission statement is: “To provide excellent technical services to COMESA in order to facilitate the region’s sustained development through economic integration”.
COMESA member states
Republic of Burundi
Union of the Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of Djibouti
Arab Republic of Egypt
State of Eritrea
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Republic of Kenya
Libya
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Rwanda
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of The Sudan
Kingdom of Swaziland
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
Republic of Zimbabwe
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