Late last week, the first UNTWO East Africa Tourism Development Forum was brought together with representatives from East Africa and the Vanilla Islands to explore areas of further regional cooperation.

The first UNWTO East Africa Tourism Development Forum gathered regional tourism leaders and stakeholders to identify opportunities to maximise sustainable tourism development through regional collaboration.

Opening the Forum, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, William Samoei Ruto highlighted the importance of tourism as a critical component of the East African economy.

“Our biggest challenge is to work together to improve every aspect of the experience we offer to our visitors, from their arrival at the airport, their movement within and across our countries, the accommodation and facilities that we offer, and the affordability across all income brackets,” he said.

Phyllis Kandie, Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Kenya was one of a number of tourism ministers present. She said that by pulling and working together to address issues of competitiveness, positioning the destination globally and responding to environmental challenges, they will ensure that the East African continent and African continent as a whole will get its fair share of tourist arrivals.

“Most importantly, we need to remember that we are not competitors. We are one people with a common destiny. Let us rise up to this challenge,” she added.

Alongside Phyllis Kandie, the African Tourism Ministers of Seychelles, Sudan and Uganda, as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism of Tanzania also participated in the Forum.

Also present were high-level representatives for the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), the East Africa Community (EAC), the International Air transport Association (IATA), and Kenya Airways.

All forum participants stressed the need to put in place joint institutional frameworks and policy measures to spur further tourism growth throughout East Africa, including establishing a positive narrative of East Africa as a destination.

“UNWTO maintains great confidence in the East African Community´s ability to position itself as a leading tourism destination, by delivering one compelling, highly competitive offering. In this context, I wish to welcome the recent introduction of the East Africa Tourist Visa, which allows travel between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, boosting regional tourism and creating opportunities for tourists to explore the diversity of multiple destinations in the region,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

A future common East African Tourism Agenda has been outlined in a Ministerial meeting held on the occasion of the Forum which will include agreements on regional priorities and concrete actions for cooperation.

Ministers have also agreed to work towards further mainstreaming tourism in the agenda of the African Union to make a key contribution to the peace and development objectives of Africa.