By: Aaron Bundu Lahai-Head of Media & Public Relations
The Hon. Vice President of Sierra Leone Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, delivered the keynote address at the first Women in Tourism regional congress at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown.
The three-day congress is organized with the theme: “Beyond Empowerment to Education, Innovation, and Finance Access”.
The Vice President informed the audience about the massive transformation that has taken place over the years in the tourism sector. He said that the Government has invested money in the social sector like health, even though the Government has realized the importance of unleashing potential in the productive sector.
He explained that unleashing the potential in the productive sector means looking for an innovative way to generate resources to spend in the social sector. He revealed that the tourism sector is one of the productive sectors the Government has identified that could generate additional revenue for development, noting that the tourism sector could generate enormous economic benefits and create jobs, as well as unleash the potential of hospitality and the entertainment industries and cultural heritage. He referred to the tourism sector as one of the key rising sectors that could bolster revenue and job creation.
He also disclosed that tourism stands as one of the enablers to the big five initiative of President Julius Maada Bio, adding that women play a pivotal role at the core of the eco-tourism system. He elaborated on the involvement of women in the entire tourism ecosystem chain such as small and medium size enterprises. He noted that the involvement of women creates jobs and bolsters the economy.
Vice President Jalloh believes that women in the tourism sector could do more if African governments could support them. He said that because the Government of Sierra Leone has realized the potential of women’s capacity to contribute to development, it has passed into law the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Act. He explained that the GEWE Act is meant to achieve to increase the representation of women along the nominative and elective models and tenable women access finance.
He noted that the progressive actions would impact the role of women and active participation in all sectors including tourism.
Dr Jalloh noted that the theme of the tourism congress speaks more to the challenges and opportunities for women in the tourism sector.
The Hon. Vice President described empowerment as giving power and authority to somebody. He said that the Congress should transition to creating opportunities for women.
He said that innovation is one of the key elements that is vital for the empowerment of women, stressing that innovation and technology provide endless opportunities for small and medium-size businesses. He called for support to women with innovative ideas in the tourism sector to improve the operational efficiency of their businesses. The second element which he referred to as critical is finance. He told the audience that the tourism sector is a service-driven sector that takes time to grow and involves risk financing. He encouraged financial institutions to support businesses in the tourism sector while emphasizing the need for governments to take proactive steps to ensure there is a designed financing model that could respond to the challenges and opportunities in the tourism sector.
Vice President Jalloh opined on the shared regional opportunities and infrastructure that could help the tourism sector including transportation. He explained that transportation is vital to the tourism sector, especially shared transportation supported by regional institutions such as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States). Investment in shared transportation, according to Vice President Jalloh, lowers the cost of transportation, and enhances connectivity, especially by road which allows people to move freely. He named energy as the second vital infrastructural shared opportunity for the tourism sector, noting that energy is a serious challenge within the West Africa sub-region. He thanked the guests from African countries and other parts of the world for traveling to Sierra Leone to attend the congress.
The Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Nabela Farida Tunis described tourism as a major source of economic diversification and job creation for the youths and women in Sierra Leone. She disclosed that the tourism conference is the first congress organized in Sierra Leone, and is meant to chat the way forward for actionable and inclusive agenda for women in tourism at the continental level. She revealed that the principal objective of the women in tourism regional congress is to move beyond empowerment by equipping women in tourism with the requisite access needed, actionable insights, multifaceted supports, and enviable opportunities.
Ms. Seraphine Wakana, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, says that women account for 54% of the total employment in the global tourism and travel industry, according to recent research conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (2024). She spoke about plans to procure two coaches to increase the efficiency of travelers to and from the airport with ease, as a support to the Ministry of Tourism from the United Nations Development Programme. She pledged the United Nations’ unwavering commitment to Sierra Leone, standing by the country in its journey to build a thriving tourism sector where women lead, innovation flourishes, and sustainable growth benefits all.