Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule has emphasised the need for different sectors to play an active role in the promotion of Malawi as a tourism destination.
Kamtukule made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday at an event marking World Tourism Day.
“When you are talking about tourism development in this country, it is the responsibility of everyone. Every sector has to be involved,” she said.
She said that gone are the days when tourism was only associated with visiting the lake or hiking, among other past popular tourism activities.
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“What we are trying to do is to demystify what tourism is all about. There are many types of tourism. Some of them are education tourism, religious tourism, sports tourism, mining tourism and agri-tourism. Every sector is providing us with a product of tourism,” she said.
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Lilongwe City Mayor, Esther Sagawa, said there was a need to devolve powers of managing tourist destinations so that they effectively help in the promotion of tourism in the country
“If we have the powers, we will be monitoring those sectors, at the same time benefiting from them,” she said.
At the event, Standard Bank gave a total of K9 million to outstanding individuals in photography and poetry competitions.
K4.5 million worth equipment vouchers were given to three winners in a photography competition.
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The best photographer got K2 million, the second best got K1.5 million while the third best received a voucher of K1 million.
The bank also gave a total of K750, 000 each for school fees and stationery to six exceptional student poets across the country.
World Tourism Day is commemorated on September 27. This year’s theme was ‘Tourism and Peace’.
According to the Malawi Government Annual Economic Report for 2024, the sector’s total contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) was projected at K467.5 billion in 2023.
For 2024, the government projects the sector’s direct contribution to GDP at 5.6 percent.
Malawi’s tourism revenue is projected to hit $260 million by 2028 from $220 million in 2023, representing 2.7 percent average annual growth.
