Tourism
Government pursues tourism masterplan
June 27, 2019 / Wahard Betha
Government says it is implementing a master plan to develop the tourism sector, which involves putting up necessary infrastructure to create a conducive business climated for existing players in the industry and intensifying promotional activities to attract more tourists and investors.
Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Lloyd Muhara, said at the launching ceremony of this year’s three day Takulandirani Malawi Tourism Expo that the masterplan will be implemented over a period of 25 years and will guide planning, zoning and promotion of tourism investment in the country.
Muhara said as part of the plan, the government has constructed two access roads in the tourism district ofSalima connecting lakeshore resorts to the main road and acquired over 17 hectares of land along the lakeshore for development of public beaches which will act as a model for tourism development along the lake.
He said the Ministry has also upgraded the Kamuzu international Airport with assistance from the Japanese Government through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The chief secretary also said government is implementing the Promotion of Investment and Competitiveness in the Tourism Sector (PICTS) project with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of US$10-million.
Muhara said: “The project seeks to build and strengthen institutional capacity in tourism statistics development and implementation of Tourism Satellite Accounting system for Malawi.”
“This will improve collection of tourism statistics to provide a better case to Government for public funding of the sector.”
The project will also build capacity of 500 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector through training and provision of loans to the SMEs.
It will as well enhance law enforcement in Kasungu and Lake Malawi National Parks to reduce wildlife poaching and strengthen the Malawi Tourism Council, which is the voice of the tourism private sector so that it serves its members more effectively.
He said the project will involve development of an Eco-tourism strategy to ensure sustainable utilization of Malawi’s unique nature-based attractions, support review of culture legal framework and instruments and develop tourism infrastructure at Chongoni World Heritage site which projects Stone Age rock art.
Muhara explained that with these interventions the project will not only boost Malawi’s capacity to attract foreign investment in the tourism sector but it will also enhance the country’s capacity to satisfy tourism needs.
Malawi’s travel and tourism sector contributes 7.7% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
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