The East African Community (EAC) Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife has approved the EAC regional COVID-19 recovery plan for tourism that seeks to revive the sector that has been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past 16 months.
Najib Balala, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said that plan will ensure that the six member states of the economic bloc adopt a collective and coordinated approach towards tourism recovery that entails interventions that are aimed at reinforcing the measures being developed and implemented at national levels.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of us some really important lessons. For instance, domestic and regional tourism markets are really key and they can help in making the tourism sector resilient in case of future disasters and pandemics,” Balala said in a statement released on Friday.
He noted that the pandemic has revealed that tourism sector players can use technology to connect with each other and have meetings.
He observed that some EAC partner states had already instituted measures to combat the effects of COVID-19 on the tourism sector such as the formulation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting the sector and supporting tourism investments in the region including the small and micro enterprises.
Peter Mathuki, secretary general, EAC said that while some partner states had initiated tourism recovery efforts, it would really be helpful for the region to come together to implement joint actions aimed at the recovery of the sector as well as laying a strong foundation for its future development.
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