30 Nov 2022

SADC launches regional tourism business platform to address tourism barriers

Following a consultative process that started over a year ago, tourism apex associations from SADC Member States convened at a workshop held 22-23 November 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa to launch the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tourism Business Platform (TBP).

The aim of the platform is to address tourism barriers and advance the sustainable development of the regional tourism industry. Representatives from the SADC 16 Member States – Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, were part of the consultative process to establish the structure.

The platform will provide the tourism private sector in the SADC region an opportunity to foster a collective and coordinated approach towards tourism development through influencing regional tourism policy direction, strengthening policy integration and regional collaboration, and increasing regional marketing and investment.
Among other tourism challenges the platform will focus on accelerating the implementation of the SADC Univisa system, harmonization of air access policies and removal of travel barriers to stimulate tourist movement, the promotion and marketing of the region as a single tourism destination and facilitating the improvement of immigration and border services and infrastructure.

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Source: VoyagesAfriq