Tourism Minister Vera Kamtukule has said Malawi’s Tourism figures bounced back to pre-Covid levels last year.
Kamtukule told The Business Times that the number of tourists visiting Malawi jumped to above 900, 000 from around 178,000 during Covid times.
Speaking on the sidelines of a media conference on the forthcoming 2024 Malawi International Tourism Expo, Kamtukule attributed the rebound to a number of initiatives, including the 2023 Tourism Expo.
She said, among other things, the ministry launched an aggressive type of marketing to tell the world that Malawi was open to tourists after Covid.
Commenting on the 2024 Malawi International Tourism Expo, Kamtukule said the event is scheduled to take place from April 25 to 27.
She said the tourism expo is Malawi’s leading and most established gathering of international and domestic tourism exhibitors, financiers, policy makers and government representatives discussing up-to-date tourism trends and information and showcasing tourism opportunities available in Malawi.
According to Kamtukule, the expo also provides a platform for local operators to link up with a global distribution network of wholesalers, retailers, tour operators and travel agents that sell Malawi tour packages in tourist key source markets around the world.
“This year’s expo will not just be about welcoming international buyers and travel media from our key source markets like the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and USA but we will also focus more on leveraging the strong partnerships we have created with the global travel trade and expanding our horizons to embrace growing tourism markets such as India, China, Italy and France.
“At this year’s expo, we shall also focus on the East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania where we are experiencing growth. This is not because these are growing economies/ markets, but because they receive a lot of tourists from our key source markets as well and we would like to work with them to extend their visits to Malawi,” she said.
Kamtukule observed that while South Africa and Zimbabwe have been our loyal exhibitor partners from the inaugural tourism expo in 2017. This year, the country is prepared to welcome Zambia, Kenya and Botswana
“These regional markets promise vibrant exchanges, potential partnerships and the chance to showcase Malawi’s unique charm to fellow African travelers.
“Furthermore, they operationalise the bilateral agreements that Malawi has signed with these countries in the field of tourism and also practically facilitates joint marketing efforts among the countries,” she said.
Speaking during the launch of the Malawi Tourism Investment Masterplan, President Lazarus Chakwera said the tourism sector is key to helping the country achieve the agenda 2063.
He observed that the government is already making strides towards creating an enabling environment that will drive more investments into this sector.
