Hon. Memunatu Pratt, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs is working diligently to actualize President Julius Maada Bio’s administration vision of promoting tourism as a catalyst for diversification of the economy. In this interview, she speaks on the efforts of the Ministry to transform Sierra Leone into a destination of choice for tourists. Excerpts:
WHAT is your strategic plan to transform Sierra Leone’s tourism industry?
Tourism is one of the central pillars of the present administration’s economic diversification drive. The strategic plan is to harness the country’s tourism potential in order to transform Sierra Leone into a resilient economy.
The New Direction Master Plan of the Government has identified certain critical areas for the transformation and diversification process. They include the review and upgrade of all tourism-related laws, regulations and policies to ensure ongoing consistency with global best practices; the rehabilitation of historical and cultural sites geared towards attracting domestic and international tourists and business travelers; the enhancement of the capacity of actors involved in the management of tourism; and the development of tourist resorts and more extensive supporting infrastructure.
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Since taking up office, the Ministry has been working round the clock to actualize the master plan. The Ministry and the National Tourist Board have engaged in several activities to convey Sierra Leone’s fitness and readiness as a top destination for tourism. These efforts will continue in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and partners.
Being only six hours away from Europe, eight hours from the US and three hours from Lagos, West Africa’s largest city, Sierra Leone has a splendid combination of beautiful white sandy beaches, vibrant tropical forests teeming with exotic wildlife, breath-taking mountains, tropical rain forest, and excellent climate. With the influx of international brands such as Hilton and Radisson Blu which are investing in our tourism sector, coupled with the consistent surge in the number of tourists visiting Sierra Leone annually since 2016, tourism has gained momentum and the country is back on the world map as a tourist destination. In fact, since 2016, Sierra Leone has been rated among the world’s fastest-growing travel destinations.
The National Tourism Policy and the National Ecotourism Policy, which seek to attract up to 20,000 international and 30,000 domestic ecotourism visits by 2025 have provided blueprints to guide the sustainable development of the sector. To continue building on this momentum, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Immigration recently launched the visa-on-arrival policy for Sierra Leone.
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To continue the transformation of the country into a competitive tourism destination, a series of regulatory frameworks have been introduced. They include the National Tourism Island Development Policy; Review of the Cultural Policy; the introduction of the Entertainment Policy, which will pave the way for the establishment of the Entertainment Commission; the Tourism Wildlife Development Policy; and the review of the Tourism Development Act 1990, which is in progress.
We are quite aware that there are endless possibilities in the tourism sector, given the diverse ecology of Sierra Leone. The Government through my Ministry will continue embarking on activities that would enhance the environment for tourism operators such as providing reduced visa costs for target markets and reviewing the prices of air tickets for travelling to the country. We are also supporting the formation of the Tourism Federation and other stakeholder associations to enhance public-private partnerships (PPPs) whilst capitalizing on digital and technological advances globally to improve the government’s revenue generation drive and showcase the potential of the sector digitally.
How is the Ministry creating awareness about the country’s tourist attractions to make it a destination of choice for tourists?
Stories of our experience as a country in the 90s and the recent Ebola scourge have sort of tainted Sierra Leone, especially on the internet. But these are challenges we have not only overcome but also learnt lessons from as a nation, and we are on a positive trajectory. The entire country is stronger, safer and healthier than it has ever been.
In recent times, we have been more strategic in telling the world about our positive trajectory and creating awareness about the country’s tourism attractions. My Ministry and its agencies in collaboration with other stakeholders have been engaging the international media such as the BBC, Aljazeera, Eturbu news among others. We have also been organizing press conferences, trade fairs, media engagements and promotional tours. We have equally been hosting globally renowned tourism /travel personalities such as Dr Jane Goodall (DBE, anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace), the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, and Jessica Nabongo who is on the quest to become the first black woman to travel to all countries. Familiarization visits are also being organized for travel writers, journalists, tour operators from key source markets to have a first-hand experience of the diverse offerings of the country.
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To enhance domestic tourism, the Ministry, in collaboration with other MDAs, organized the Agro-tourism festival in Bonthe and the National Cultural Festival in Kabala. The Ministry has hosted and facilitated several entertainment shows, festivals and concerts across the country. It spearheaded the first National Entertainment Conference and the Establishment of the National Entertainment Foundation which is geared towards developing a vibrant tourism and cultural sector.
As part of our rebranding efforts, we will continue to collaborate with tour operators, travel agencies, travel journalists, Incomers, television channels, airlines hotels and other tourism-related companies along the entire tourism sector ecosystem. So far, these interventions have contributed to the increase in business transactions for local tour operators, hotels, airline operators, local sea transportation as well as cultural and historical sites. The Ministry has supported the collaboration with well- experienced tourism representatives in the UK (Kamageo), Germany (Hana Kebler), France (Olivier Thierry) and the USA (Corner Stone).
The thrust of our message is that Sierra Leone is a peaceful, stable, democratic country and an investment-friendly tourism destination. Our greatest asset is our warm, friendly and hospitable people. Some of the world’s endangered species of chimpanzee, baboon, monkeys, jungle elephant, rare species of birds, butterflies, pygmy hippos and a variety of antelopes and buffalo families can be found in our tropical forests.
Government is making concerted efforts to develop facilities along all these beaches to improve the tourism market of Sierra Leone.
Apart from the beaches, the country offers visitors its historical heritage and is a site for cultural tourism as many African-Americans trace their roots back to Sierra Leone including well-known celebrities like Denzel Washington, Idris Elba and many more.
With all these endowments, the present administration is not only scaling up investments in the labour force but providing the requisite infrastructure to encourage investments in the tourism industry.
How is Sierra Leone exploring cultural tourism which is an emerging and sustainable form of tourism?
Culture is one of the most profound concepts to have emerged in modern times. This is so because the boundaries of the social setting are identified by two significant concepts – society and culture. We view cultural tourism as a low hanging fruit and the most readily available component of our sustainable tourism development plan. The cultural/creative industries are readily available, cheap and easy to harmonize for us to harness the potential of our cultural heritage tourism to the fullest degree. We are right now creating the necessary framework and undertaking infrastructural development to make the sector viable and competitive in the promotion of cultural activities in the country. To this end, a new Cultural Village is being constructed at Mabala, Koya Region, and Western Area; a National Arts Gallery is to be built; the Cultural Policy will be upgraded into an Act and Policy for Arts, Culture and Entertainment is being developed.
We also intend to ratify and domesticate the UNESCO conventions. Other activities we are engaging in to boost cultural tourism include Community outreach and trainings for arts, culture, entertainment practitioners and stakeholders, organizing of Special Annual end-of-year Agro-Tourism and cultural festivals, holding of events and exhibitions at regional levels. We will continue to organize the Annual Mid-year National Cultural Festival and Exhibition dubbed “Sierra Leone Carnival/ Faces”; the conducting of research and documentation of Arts, Culture and entertainment resources and products. We will equally establish a Heritage Commission.
How is the Ministry utilising the country’s breath-taking natural landscape resources as a catalyst for economic development?
We have embarked on a range of activities to develop the natural landscape for the stimulation of job opportunities, income generation, investment, trade and skills training opportunities. This is being done through the opening up of coastal communities. The Ministry has prepared projects in partnership with the World Bank and other development partners to provide safe and reliable sea transportation to these communities to open them up for domestic and international tourism.
In the same vein, we will implement the Island Development and the Wildlife policies in strong partnership with the private sector. Plans are under way for a National Consultative Conference for all Paramount Chiefs to enlighten them on how they should re-assert their authorities as crucial stakeholders in the protection and preservation of cultural assets in the country. We are unrelenting in our efforts to preserve and conserve our environment.
What are the prospects of Sierra Leone’s tourism industry?
There are bright prospects for Sierra Leone’s tourism industry. With the priority government is giving to tourism, the country stands to benefit from the current favourable global tourism trend, as preparation is ongoing to improve on active networking in the African continental and sub-regional tourism markets. Outside the continent, the Western European market is also showing interest in Sierra Leone as a preferred destination. We will also tap the North American market as soon as airline services to the region are established.
With tourism still in its infancy in Sierra Leone, it will be a long-term advantage for the international tourist industry to invest in the sector. In adopting planned and regulation development approach, Sierra Leone, by and large, is still in a position to ensure environmental conservation while expanding its tourism sector with a view to enhancing the quality of its tourist sites.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.