By Alimatu Jalloh
The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and its agencies with support from the World Bank have celebrated the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Day.
The celebration was held at the Family Kingdom resort on Tuesday the 27th September 2022 with the theme: “Rethinking Tourism.”
The Chairman of the occasion, who also doubles as the Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Ambassador Foday Yumkella, stated that they were there to observe the World Tourism Day with an important slogan “Tourism for Peace”. He said without peace there could be no tourism, adding that tourism can promote peace. “The complementarity of tourism and peace cannot be overemphasized which has heightened the interest in tourism as a means of promoting peace,” he noted.
The Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh remarked that the celebration of World Tourism Day creates the platform to have a sincere dialogue to address those challenges and take advantage of the opportunities available. He explained the gains made by the sector and the impact of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on the sector. He said the incident of August 10 captured the attention of renowned international TV channels which has negatively impacted Sierra Leone’s brand. He added that it is significant for such ugly and horrible images not to cloud the good image of Sierra Leone.
The Project Coordinator, Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP), Mary Jalloh said she was excited to grace the occasion especially as a Sierra Leonean, and also to sharing her branding experience about Sierra Leone. She said SLEDP is a World Bank funded project that focuses on transforming the perception of Sierra Leone through the tourism sector. She mentioned that they supported the Ministry to develop the first ever national tourism and rebranding strategy for Sierra Leone.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt, said the theme for this year’s celebration was a deliberate attempt by the Ministry to set up their awareness raising campaign and change the mindset of young folks about the dangers of conflict and its attendant consequences.
She said that the day is celebrated each year to promote public awareness on the immense contributions of tourism and the socio-economic growth of nations, and to promote peace and socio-cultural cohesion globally as well as to reflect on the challenges faced by the industry.
She maintained that tourism and peace have been complimenting each other, and added that tourism activities have the potential to bridge settlement across areas of conflict, saying that there is the need to enhance awareness raising campaign on tourism activities and its impact on peace.
She highlighted the significant gains made by the sector and called for concerted efforts across the board to ensure that such gains are sustained.