The 67th meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for Africa (22-24 July) welcomed public and private sector leaders from across the region. The Member States met as Africa’s tourism sector experiences strong recovery. During the first quarter of 2024, arrivals were up 5% compared to pre-pandemic levels. This positions the continent as the second-best performer globally, surpassing all regions except the Middle East.
Zambia, as the whole African region, is an excellent example of the positive impact of tourism, which leads to new investments and job creation.
Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, stated, “Zambia, as the whole African region, is an excellent example of the positive impact of tourism, which leads to new investments and job creation. Furthermore, our Members come together in Livingstone as Zambia is celebrates 60 years of peace and independence, an inspiration as we get set to mark World Tourism Day around the theme of ‘tourism and peace’ in September.”
Investing in African tourism
In the last 10 years alone, Africa has attracted over 160 greenfield projects in tourism, representing a total capital investment of USD 10.7 billion, and the potential to create over 24,000 jobs. Recognizing this positive trend, the Commission Meeting Session featured a special Ministerial-level discussion focused on global tourism investment trends, with a special emphasis on the promising tourism outlook in Zambia. The session offered insights into sustainable development opportunities and strategies to attract and secure tourism investments. Key talking points included sustainable tourism development strategies, enhancing Africa’s global tourism competitiveness and innovation in tourism marketing and branding.
The meeting also saw the launch of a new set of the Investment Guidelines for Zambia. The publication focuses on tourism and inclusive growth in Zambia, which aligns with the UN Tourism Agenda for Africa, identifying opportunities for global investors.
New tourism Academies planned for Africa
At the meeting, Memorandums of Understanding were signed for the creation of the Tourism Centre of Excellence in Livingstone, Zambia and the Academy for Culinary Arts in Zimbabwe.
The Academies will add to the growing network of education centres supported by UN Tourism, helping give workers the skills they need to thrive in the sector and so drive economic growth and social opportunity. Secretary-General Pololikashviki also announced 100 scholarships for the UN Tourism Online Academy to each of the countries.
Technical support for African Members
Out of 50 technical cooperation projects worldwide, UN Tourism is currently working on 13 in 10 African countries covering areas such as tourism statistics, digital transformation or skills development. Several technical cooperation projects are currently being developed in the region, aligning with the five pillars of the Agenda for Africa: branding, connectivity, innovation, education, and investments. Secretary-General Pololikashvili also confirmed that UN Tourism will work with its Members across the region to develop and implement a new communication strategy designed to showcase the uniqueness of African destinations.
Additionally, Members embraced the Secretariat’s emphasis on safety and security recommendations in the UN Tourism Agenda for Africa which includes a tourism police initiative in collaboration with The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
With the aim of widening the portfolio and expanding on-the-ground presence of the organization, the establishment of a new Regional Office in Marrakesh is currently under discussion.
Expanding global cooperation
Looking ahead, UN Tourism will hold a first joint meeting of its Regional Departments for Africa and the Americas (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, 3-5 October 2024). Here, Members of both Commissions will meet to discuss South-South cooperation through investments, education, cultural roots, creative industries, and innovation.
About UN Tourism
The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Our Priorities
Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.
Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.
Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.
Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members’ competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.
Advancing tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.
Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.
Our Structure
Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.
Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.
Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism’s 500 plus Affiliate members.
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