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Mauritius: African Development Bank affirms commitment to continent’s tourism sector
The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has reiterated its support to
Africa’s tourism sector, seen as one of the continent’s fastest growing areas.
Speaking at the 66th Tourism Conference organized by United Nations
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Mauritius in July 2023, Leila Mokaddem,
Director General for the Southern Africa Regional Integration and Business
Delivery Hub, said the Bank would prioritise support for member countries to
develop their tourism industry and other pathways to sustainable, climate-smart
local economic development.
The conference, hosted by the Mauritius government, was held under the
theme "Rethinking Tourism for Africa: Promoting Investment and
Partnerships; Addressing Global Challenges".
“Tourism is one of the fastest growing and most interconnected sectors
in the global economy with vast potential to boost GDP and investment, spur
regional integration. Mauritius is a success story in that regard,” Mokaddem
said.
The conference brought together African tourism ministers and key
tourism stakeholders from the sector to discuss the development of tourism in
Africa. The annual gathering offers a platform where both public and private
sector industry partners come together to exchange ideas. The conference
explored innovative ways to promote investment, partnerships and sustainable
growth in the African tourism sector.
The Bank has identified the tourism sector as a priority sector in its
strategy to accelerate Africa’s industrialization and green growth. In this
regard, it is working in close cooperation with the United Nations World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the specialized agency in charge of promoting
tourism with a network from its membership of 158 countries.
The Bank and UNWTO have agreed to strengthen their cooperation and to
establish a working arrangement through a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU), guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, African Union
Agenda 2063 and Rio+20 development goals and objectives. This aligns with the
Bank’s 2013-2022 Strategy and its High 5 priorities to industrialize Africa and
to improve the quality of life of Africans, through creating enabling
conditions for decent jobs for youth.
Both parties agree that joint efforts will boost the tourism sector and
help fill the gaps in the areas of advocacy, policy and analytical advice.
Discussions to finalize signing of the MoU are ongoing.
Image Credit: ©
AA
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