چشم انداز ، قدرت ، پول: بیانیه بازیابی گردشگری آفریقا امضا می شود

Transcript of Hon. Balala remarks:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Magical Kenya and to the cradle of humankind- Kenya. For those unaware, Sibiloi National Park hosts the unique location known as the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ because of its extraordinary fossil and archeological significance. The Park itself stands on the edge of the largest desert lake in the world, Lake Turkana.

You may well be walking on the same land your ancestors did millions of years ago when you walk on Kenyan soil. We welcome guests to enjoy the magnificent Flora and Fauna. By the way, let me let you in on a little secret. The annual Wildebeests’ migration in the world famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve dubbed ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ has begun. I ordered it specially for you.

On behalf of the people and the Government of Kenya, and my behalf, allow me to extend a special warm welcome to all my African Brothers and Sisters, and to our international guests, especially as it is the first time for some of you to come to Kenya. It is my sincere hope that we shall see more of you in the future.

This second summit follows the Tourism Recovery Summit that took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2021. It will look into ideas to restore the African tourism sector following the devastating wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still wreaking havoc throughout the world with devastating impact on the tourism sector.

I welcome the opportunity for Kenya to host the Tourism Recovery Summit Africa, and I would like to thank H.E. Ahmed Khateeb and his colleagues at the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia for their support in helping us to make this important event happen in such a short time.

The summit accords us the opportunity as Africa’s top decision-makers on tourism to explore ways to collaborate and deliberate on innovative solutions to successfully re-start the sector and to build even better.

We must seize the moment to shape global tourism recovery by enhancing our partnerships with multilateral institutions, the private sector and building new alliances.

Tourism is one of the most important economic industries in the world today, with over 330 million employment created globally. It has direct and indirect linkages with other sectors such as agriculture, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, building and construction, and transportation. In Kenya, tourism and travel remain the third-largest contributor to the GDP (about 10%) after agriculture and manufacturing and we have not even peaked yet.

However, to get over this pandemic effectively there is an urgent need for global solidarity, particularly regarding vaccine distribution, with no room for hoarding or selfishness in vaccine intake. Equally, red-listing each other divides nations instead of bringing us together and pulling our resources to fight this pandemic together. For this reason, I humbly appeal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through H.E. Ahmed Khateeb to join us in helping the 21million frontline hospitality workers in Africa and the Caribbean to access COVID-19 vaccines. 

I also believe that the global community needs to come together and say emphatically that what is good for me is good for my neighbor. Because as long as we do not have optimal vaccination coverage in the continent, we will continue to struggle. And, until the majority of the world has an adequate vaccine supply, we will continue to face new variants that are likely to be increasingly vaccine-resistant strains that will effect not just certain parts of the World but the entire planet.

Apart from COVID-19 being a threat to humanity, it is also an opportunity because it will most definitely lead, as is already evident, to the next wave of innovations as people learn to cope with its aftermath.

Africa needs to harness the power of technology to re-invent the tourism experience as a whole with home-grown concepts. For example, creating a virtual experience for visiting game parks and museums, guest service systems, and using the internet to improve the marketing experience by developing better destination websites with augmented reality platforms and so on.

We also need to take advantage of this period during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine our own destinations’ vulnerabilities strengths and most importantly our resilience.

Where we are overly reliant on too few channels, customer types, airline partners or tour operators, or where we are not sufficiently diversified, we will need to reset and to rethink.

Sustainability is another critical issue we need to look into when planning for recovery. Today’s millennials are deeply concerned with how a destination makes maximum use of environmental resources in conserving natural heritage and biodiversity and how surrounding communities gain equitably from tourism activities.

This is why Kenya has been instrumental in creating community Wildlife Conservancies, banning the use of single-use plastics in the country since June 2020 in all our protected natural areas. The preservation of our environment is tied to the very existence of humanity. We hope that this ban can encourage similar policies and actions across Africa and globally.

On supporting communities whose livelihoods rely on tourism, we are glad to say that in Kenya, we are now supporting 160 community conservancies in running their day-to-day operations since the onset of the pandemic. By doing so, we foster positive working relationships with the communities while also ensuring that tourism thrives in those places.

These two are only a first. We shall be looking into more ways of promoting sustainable tourism in our country. And as an extension, I would like to urge all the distinguished guests here to emulate the same, if not more. This goes to not only conserving the environment but also portrays a positive image of the tourism industry who would be part of the movement.

The Pandemic has awakened a new dawn in Africa. Africa has to wake up, and this can be our time. But we must build networks and infrastructure within the continent so that we can interlink and connect Intra – Africa. This will help to promote travel within Africa and to market us as a continent that offers almost anything and everything for the African traveler.

The reason we need to do this is because there is minimal travel within Africa, and also globally, the percentage of people coming to Africa is only 3%. We therefore, need to improve our Infrastructure, air connectivity by supporting the open-sky policy, security, and safety, build capacity, and improve our products’ offerings.

This is the time for Africa to build Africa for Africans. It’s not just about telling the narrative and building the brand Africa; we must encourage the 1.3 billion residents of Africa to travel within the continent because tourism can be a game-changer for the continent since we have all the necessary products.

We need to invest in the continent so that tourism can work. We can also be independent in so many ways. For example, Europe has stated that they want Europeans not to leave the region in the next year to support their local economy and to manage infections.

Let us be prepared because the world has changed, and we must change as well or perish. We have not taken the need for change seriously enough nor have we exploited it fully.

خانم ها و آقایان، we have ample solar, wind, minerals, mountains, deserts, lakes, people with rich culture, history, and heritage. Therefore, we must invite investments into the continent to build the middle class so that we can have a sustainable tourism market for ourselves; this should be our priority now and going forward.

Finally, let me end my speech with this quote from one of the pioneer African visionary leaders, Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana, “It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided, we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world”.

I thank you for listening to me.

Here is how Africa is seen through the eyes of a global leader and Tourism Minister from Jamaica: