Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule said Tuesday that culture remains a “great” product in tourism promotion and that her ministry cannot do without it.
She said this in an interview in Lilongwe as the country continues to celebrate tourism, this month being Tourism Month.
“We cannot talk about tourism without talking about culture; culture is a product, culture is a tool that we need to use to sell our country because when you are telling people about Malawi, you are going to do that through culture.
“Culture is our way of living and that encompasses how we dress, how we prepare our food, how we live and, so, culture is a very integral part of tourism and it is important that we preserve culture,” Kamtukule said.
She observed that people in the country have a lot of self-hate which is being manifested “in ourselves looking down on ourselves as far as tourism is concerned”.
“We think that everything about culture is alien or primitive, I think we need to move away from that because people that do not have culture do not have an identity,” she said.
Kamtukule dressed in a traditional attire basking in the glory of being Malawian added: “When you say this is, for instance, a Zimbabwean, then there is something that you have seen; this one is a Namibian, then there is something that you have seen It is the way they look, talk, the way they dress.
‘And, so, in as far as we have these technological advancements, life is moving, things are changing, there must be always a degree of culture that is maintained and preserved even for the next generation.”
She said, in terms of policy, culture falls under Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture but because it is a tool that they are using, they are working closely with the Department of Arts that used to be under her ministry.
“We are glad that we have artists selling the country to the world. We have, for instance, Madalitso Band which is currently in United States of America,” the minister said.
Kamtukule said working closely with Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture through Department of Arts, her ministry will ensure that creatives get equipped with information about Malawi and other elements to properly talk about ‘Destination Malawi’.
She also zeroed in on festivals that have been instrumental in promoting tourism in the country citing, among others, Sand Music Festival which this year will be held at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi on September 29 to October 1 2023.
The festival will bring international acts such as Jamaica’s Kenyatta Hill, Nigeria’s Spyro, Zambia’s Organised Family and South Africa’s Murumba Pitch.
Some of the local acts set to star at this year’s festival include Janta, Fredokiss, Kell Kay, Driemo, Kellie Divine, Skeffa Chimoto, Atoht Manje and Black Missionaries and Anthony Makondetsa.
