By Cathy Maulidi:
The Ministry of Tourism needs about K1 billion to market the country, Director of Administration in the Ministry of Tourism Esther Nyirenda told Parliament Tuesday.
Nyirenda told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that apart from marketing the country as a tourism destination, the ministry is advocating domestic tourism.
“We need to market our country to both local and international tourists and doing that, needs a lot of resources.
“We have our officers attached to embassies who help us market our country and we also reach out to people who can do marketing for us. We advertise and when they apply and meet what we want, we sign contracts with them so that they should be marketing Malawi while in their countries,” Nyirenda said.
She cited high rates in hospitality units as one of the major hindrances to growing the tourism sector.
According to Nyirenda, the ministry will launch its tourism marketing strategy by September 2023.
But Public Accounts Committee of Parliament Vice Chairperson Ned Poya said the K1 billion amount is way too high.
According to Poya, the country can save resources if it markets its tourist attraction centres on digital platforms.
“We don’t need to entirely rely on individuals who go country to country to sell our country. We can use digital platforms. Just go on the internet and search Dubai tourist attraction centers, you will find a lot of places there, Malawi can also do the same,” Poya said.
The ministry officials has since the country’s poor road network saying it is affecting the sector.
