The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has set a target of attracting about 10 million intra-community tourists annually by 2029. ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandje Toure-Litse, disclosed this at a recent capacity-building workshop held in The Gambia.
Represented by the Director of Private Sector, Dr. Tony Elumelu, the Commissioner revealed that the target aligned with ECOWAS’ aim to leverage tourism as the driver of economic growth, adding that the policy positioned West Africa as a competitive global tourism destination.
Toure-Litse explained that the ECOWAS’ renewed emphasis on tourism is due to the recognition of tourism’s critical role in stimulating subregional economic growth. The target is also in line with the objective of providing ECOWAS citizens with a seamless tourism experience, which also aligns with the main pivot of the ECOWAS ECOTOR policy, according to Toure-Liste.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the 10 million intra-community tourists policy also includes a training program to address the identified capacity gaps in the sector for greater efficiency. Toure-Litse added that the policy and training would address the issues of tourism standards and job creation that plague the subregion’s teeming youth and women’s population.
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The policy also focuses on hotel classification and staff mobility in line with the provisions of the region’s flagship Protocol on Free Movement through cooperation and standardisation.
“ECOWAS is paving the way for a more resilient, interconnected and thriving tourism sector that will drive sustainable development and prosperity across the region by contributing a minimum of 12 per cent to the GDP of the member states. The ECOWAS regional ECOTOR policy seeks to promote an integrated tourism community, promote interstate tourism products, and improve the performance of the private sector of tourists and competitiveness of the sector,” Toure-Liste said.
Buttressing Toure-Liste’s point, Sheikh Tejan Nyang, chairman, subregional project on hotel standardisation, said that the implementation of the five-day training support for tourism operators was in recognition of the crucial role of tourism in the region’s economy. Nyang said that the tourism sector would compete as one of West Africa’s highest foreign exchange earners.
