Zim’s Matamisa elected into Sadc Tourism Business ...

Zim’s Matamisa elected into Sadc Tourism Business Platform body

Zim Now Writer

Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe Chief Executive Officer Paul Matamisa has been appointed, on an interim basis, as a co-chairperson of the recently launched Sadc Tourism Business Platform (TBP).

Together with Kenneth Kapitako, who is the vice president of the Federation of Namibia Tourism Associations, Matamisa will deputise South Africa’s Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa.

Their election follows a consultative process that began over a year ago, subsequently followed by the convention of a workshop by tourism apex associations from Sadc member states in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 22-23.

Aimed at addressing tourism barriers and advance the sustainable development of the regional tourism industry, the convergence had representatives from the Sadc 16 Member States - Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In his acceptance speech, Tshivhengwa said the development marked an important milestone for tourism in the Sadc region, adding he looked forward to working diligently with his peers from all 16 Sadc Member States towards the full establishment of the platform.

“It (platform) and its sub-committees will be dealing with matters regarding policy, regional tourism policy, regional tourism development, tourism marketing and visitor experience,” he said.

The newly-established body will provide the tourism private sector in the Sadc region an opportunity to foster a collective and coordinated approach towards tourism development through influencing regional tourism policy direction, strengthening policy integration and regional collaboration, and increasing regional marketing and investment.

Among other tourism challenges, the platform will focus on accelerating the implementation of the Sadc Univisa system, harmonisation of air access policies and removal of travel barriers to stimulate tourist movement, the promotion and marketing of the region as a single tourism destination and facilitating the improvement of immigration and border services and infrastructure.

The same tourism function will also serve as the voice of the tourism private sector, and is one of the strategic objectives of the Sadc Tourism Programme 2020-2030 that was approved by the Joint Meeting of Ministers responsible for Environment, Natural Resources and Tourism in Arusha, Tanzania in 2019. Their objective then was to fast-track sustainable growth of the tourism sector in the Sadc region.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a sustainable tourism sector can support livelihoods and create opportunities for millions of people around the globe in the post-Covid-19 world, contributing towards the UN’s global sustainability agenda.

“It is important therefore that the public and private sectors work together to drive the development of the regional tourism industry. From this standpoint, the platform welcomes the support and active involvement of the Sadc Business Council, the Sadc Secretariat, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ as well as the European Union and OACPS (Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States),” the Sadc secretariat said in a statement.

Executive Secretary at the Sadc Business Council, Peter Varndell, said the formation of the partnership reflected the commitment to promote private sector interests and create an enabling and competitive business environment.

“I encourage regional tourism industry players to actively engage on this platform and advance Sadc’s economic relationship with Africa for the benefit of all our citizens,” he said.