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TIME TO RETHINK TOURISM-CHAIRPERSON

With more than one billion tourists travelling to an international destination every year, tourism has become a leading economic sector, contributing 9.8 percent of global GDP and representing 7 percent of the world’s total exports.

Speaking at the commemoration of World Tourism Day held in Maseru, the Chairperson of Lesotho Council for Tourism (LCT), Adv. Makhetha Motšoari said tourism was commonly understood for the rich and elite, who could afford to engage in tourism activities, until recently when it was discovered as a potential source of economic growth and poverty eradication in developing economies.

Adv. Motšoari said the importance of tourism in propelling economic growth and eradicating poverty originates from its nature of involving diverse players, saying this ranges from governments that shape the tourism sector and platform through the design of desired policy and regulatory interventions including infrastructure delivery to the private sector players.

He said the Tourism Council is demonstrating how tourism can contribute to the country’s economic growth by encouraging the public to take travel locally and to take notice of the heritage places.

He added that the potential for expansion of the tourism market and the associated impact on economic growth is exceptionally high in Africa due to its abundance of natural assets such as beaches, wildlife, cultural heritage, and adventure opportunities.

Also speaking, Mr. Tšepang Hatasi from the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) said his company is working on Lesotho’s national branding in order to manage the perception of other nations who are interested in taking tours to Lesotho.

He said LNDC is mandated to ensure the easy flow of investors that contribute positively to the tourism sector, encourage local buying of grafts and other items, and pave way for smooth exportation.

One of the Crafts sellers from Basotho Hat, Mr. Simollang Moshoeshoe expressed concern over the market outside the country, saying they used to export to countries like Germany for the past three years but due to the pandemic, transportation has been a barrier as charges increased.

World Tourism Day was designated by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in September 1979, with the commemoration to commence in 1980. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on 27 September 1970.

Source: LENA 27/09/2022

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