Ministers from across Africa convened in the 5th annual African Ministerial Session on Monday, May 7, at Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban. The aim of the session was to bring ministerial tourism leaders, key industry players and tourism stakeholders together to deliberate on the tourism challenges and opportunities that exist between the African regions, and brainstorm ways to foster closer collaboration between countries in destination and tourism marketing.
Key issues raised by the ministers include:
- Infrastructure, both physical such as roads and transport, and digital, such as mobile and Internet connectivity;
- Air traffic and routes into Africa that would open channels for tourists to experience more of the country;
- Youth and skills development within the tourism arena, upskilling the youth to work within the industry with the benefit of job creation;
- Differential pricing of products, looking at pricing for domestic markets versus pricing for inbound tourists;
- Public-private partnerships (PPP) and the role that government plays in tourism from a financial investment and strategy development perspective, versus the role and responsibility of private enterprises;
- Competitive collaboration – regions operating in silos and competing against each other without considering the creation of cross-beneficial collaborative tourism packages;
- Free movement of travellers across Africa, and the restrictions that visas can have on tourists;
- Safety and security, and the negative perception thereof by visitors to the continent.
Fundisile Mketeni, Bureau member of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) representing Africa, tabled the issue of tourism standards, questioned how many tourists were being driven away by poor tourism standards and best practices. The danger of this, added Moderator Mavuso Msimang, was that a bad experience in one part of Africa could automatically extend to label the whole of Africa as a region not to be visited due to sub-par service. The experience in one country can extend across the whole of the continent, concurred Ugandan Minister of Tourism, Ephraim Kamuntu.
The creation of ‘Brand Africa’ was discussed, and building an image of a unified continent that offered tourism packages that cross-utilised destinations and experiences within a package to expand tourists’ horizons across the greater continent. “We need joint packages to promote Africa as a destination,” said Angolan Minister of Tourism, Angela Braganca. “Africa will overcome if we get past the closed vision we have towards tourism, and put our ideas together in a joint collaboration.” Namibian Minister of Tourism, Phohamba Shifela, agreed that an integration of offerings into exciting packages was necessary.
Shifela also added that the greater African tourism industry needed to look at initiatives that had already been created in support of tourism, such as the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (Retosa), instead of trying to form new structures. “We haven’t done much to sustain Retosa,” he said. “It was established at a SADC level to promote tourism, but it seems tourism has become a thing some of us ‘don’t feel like doing’. We have to be able to sustain what we have created.”
“There are clear challenges and opportunities,” said Msimang in conclusion, “with many of our products, which both the domestic and international markets would be interested in, being hidden because they are unknown.” He believes the starting point is a greater and more open dialogue between government and stakeholders.
While no definitive solutions were proposed, the forum swept issues out from under the carpet and revealed that many common challenges were perceived by tourism representatives from across the continent. With the spirit of the Indaba – meaning ‘coming together’ – high amongst the ministerial representatives, African tourism looks forward to seeing what solutions are proposed – and accountably implemented – in the months to come.
