Government has renewed its commitment to sustainable use of natural resources in its developmental agenda.
Tourism Permanent Secretary Evans Muhanga says Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world as it contributes to job creation, environmental protection and poverty alleviation.
Speaking when he officiated at the four days sustainable Tourism meeting in Lusaka today, Mr Muhanga said if the Tourism sector is well structured, it can empower host communities to generate trade opportunities.
He said sustainable Tourism remains a topical issue globally and that Zambia cannot afford to ignore consequences of unsustainable tourism practices if the country is to achieve real growth presently and in the future.
Mr. Muhanga noted that the United Nations General Assembly adopted 2017 as the international year of Tourism which was a watershed moment to energize institutions and countries across the world to prioritize tourism as a catalyst for positive change in the economic sector.
He said government needs to scale up efforts to build upon the impetus created when Zambia hosted the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Sustainable Tourism in Livingstone.
He stated that it was during that time that South Luangwa National Park was declared an international sustainable wildlife park for tourism development.
“Government’s desire is to ride on this feat as an encouragement for the tourism sector to achieve inclusive growth by promoting partnership and collaboration with other stakeholders in tourism,” he said.
Mr. Muhanga added that government believes that Zambia’s comparative advantage lies in the opportunity to advance home grown tourism initiatives.
He said the country will see revenue growth from the tourism sector as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have started easing as more Tourists will start visiting the country.
He expressed hope that the four -day training will enhance partnership and collaboration required to promote tourism sustainability in the country.
“I have no doubt the participants will gain the necessary technical knowledge on sustainable Tourism which will in turn improve the economy,” he said.
He implored participants to apply the acquired knowledge in their day to day sustainable Tourism in the country.
And CBI Zambia local Consultant Rachel Ward explained that CBI, an NGO based in the Netherlands has come to Zambia to offer technical support on sustainable Tourism.
Ms. Ward said sustainable Tourism is the talk of everyone globally and must be harnessed in a quest to foster development in the country.
She commended CBI for being an all-weather friend to Zambia in the Tourism sector especially that the country has conducive weather patterns and friendly people.
She said sustainable Tourism is going to help Zambia and called on the hospitality industry to improve the standards in their hotels and lodges in order to attract tourists to Zambia.
AND MINING IN THE LOWER ZAMBEZI ??
FROM PF DAYS ??
Advantage? What advantage? Even Zimbabwean tourism sector is LIGHT-YEARS ahead of Zambia, go to Vic Falls and see for yourself. There they actually KNOW what hospitality is, contrary to Livingstone! Zambians have got a LOT to learn…….
Improve the cost of activities in Livingston, it’s too expensive and worse still it’s coated in dollars. Stop this lip service and actually do something about it, thousands of Zambians want to take their families on holidays locally but the pricing is prohibitive.