THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BECAUSE WITHOUT YOU IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE
(Posted 18th February 2017)
(At the launch of the new webportal at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel on the sidelines of POATE2017 from left to right Mr. Steven Asiimwe, CEO Uganda Tourism Board, Dr. Betty Radier, CEO Kenya Tourism Board, H.E. the Rwandan High Commissioner to Uganda and the EATP Chairman Mr. Bonifence Byamukama who is also the President of the Uganda Tourism Association)
Carmen Nibigira, the Coordinator at the East Africa Tourism Platform, has earlier today already been available for interaction to get her feedback to the EATP web portal launch of yesterday.
The presentation was well received by the audience in the room and comments were exclusively positive, that another avenue to promoted ‘Destination East Africa‘ had been created and was now active and open for use.
Said Carmen to this correspondent:
‘Let me start by registering my and our team’s sincere gratitude to regional governments and their respective tourism boards for the commitment to regional tourism development and marketing. This is the first time that Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have committed and successfully executed joint promotional initiatives- Destination East Africa Portal joint Advertisement and Documentary. These promotional initiatives are timely, more so, given the prospects for tourism development in our region. They will enlighten our domestic and regional tourists on simplified travel procedures and help entice them to explore East Africa. It is our hope that they will cement our belief in regional tourism and help set the stage for further innovations in regional tourism marketing‘.
She then continued to say that the East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP), as an organization was delighted to report that concerted efforts- as public and private stakeholders were fruitful. EATP steadfastly keeps working towards the creation of a single and competitive tourism destination. Key achievements have been made in the adoption of a Joint Tourism Marketing Committee with regional strategy, a single destination brand; that showcases our destination as one in tourism expos and zero-cost work permits enabling free movement of labour. Also important are the Single Tourist Visa, interstate passes and national identity cards in travelling within the region. Said Carmen then: ‘My team and I at EATP are indeed very thankful to our partners like the regional Tourism Ministers, Tourism Board CEO’s and Private Stakeholders for their continued cooperation and belief in EATP which has made the execution of these programmes possible.
She singled out for special thanks TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) for its instrumental role in enhancing EAC’s tourism competitiveness and more particularly, its attention to inter-and intra-regional tourism and added: ‘I cannot overstate the impact of TMEA’s Export Capability Program on improved business. It is through TMEA that EATP has made significant strides in creating a single tourism destination‘.
That said did she point out that the region is still struggling with:
a) Divergent taxation and visa regimes
b) Inadequate accurate and up-to-date tourist data
c) Lack of an open skies policy, protectionism, limited air connectivity and costly airfares
d) Limited product innovation and development
e) Low-levels of skills among tourism workforce
f) Low-quality of services
g) Negative perceptions and resultant travel advisories
These challenges she said call for unity-of-purpose. Carmen used the opportunity to urge regional governments to adopt cordial-working relationship with the private sector and at the same, they should increase budget-allocations for domestic and regional markets, invest in market intelligence and incentivize low-cost carriers.
‘In the same breath, I plead with you our governments to act with speed, curb protectionism and liberalize our airspaces to let our citizens enjoy the benefits of low-fares and seamless-connectivity as enshrined in the provisions of an open sky treaty. On the other hand, as the private sector we ought to work jointly. We need to design tour packages that cut across countries. We need to enlighten our visitors of the opportunities that come with the single tourist visa and use of IDs and Interstate passes. To our tourism boards, as much as you are competing to attract tourists to your respective countries, you need to strengthen your cooperative marketing efforts. We cannot understate the spirit of cooperative financing of regional marketing and its ensuing economies of scale. Joint marketing campaigns of Destination East Africa are noble & promise to increase tourist arrivals to our region‘ did Carmen say in closing the discussion.
To conclude, it is gratifying to see that a single competitive East Africa tourism destination is finally shaping up. Major achievements have been attained in private-public partnerships and EATP is glad that the brand of East Africa is growing stronger and flying higher in international markets.
