Sierra Leone’s Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt, officially opened the 18th AKWAABA Africa Travel and Tourism Market on Sunday in Lagos.
Pratt urged West Africans to take advantage of the great tourist potential in the region to strengthen their nations’ economies during the opening ceremony of the tourism expo at Wave Beach, Lekki.
She argued that tourism needed to be handled seriously since it had the power to bring Africans together and advance urban development.
“I am happy to be here and to do things with West Africa, let us take tourism seriously.
“Tourism will be a game changer for our lives in terms of the job market; making sure we take care of cultural sites; building our heritage and in urban planning and development.
“As West Africans, we should invest in tourism promotion, this will bring us closer and unite us.
“The beautiful thing tourism does is that it increases cultural relations, partnerships, love and patriotism among nations, there is so much we have in common that we have to celebrate.
“When I came into Lagos, I observed that a lot has been done positively like the road network, it is quite interesting to be here again after 2017,” she said.
As she acknowledged AKWAABA’s early achievements, the minister noted that West African nations had not made as much progress in the growth of tourism as other regions.
Pratt applauded the Federal Government’s decision to reinstate the celebration of the Festival for Arts and Culture (FESTAC”77).
“I am glad about the revival of FESTAC”77. These are things we should be looking forward to so that we can have intra-cultural and tourism activities, and masterpiece artists’ performances, all to bridge the existing gap between the countries within the region.
“We have so many challenges in West Africa today and some of the reasons is that we are so far apart from one another. We trade, yet we are not in a position to pull ourselves together.
“Tourism is a beautiful avenue to come closer,” she said.
The session, according to Mr. Ikechi Uko, founder and convener of the AKWAABA Africa Travel and Tourism Market, would be informative, entertaining, and revitalising.
The 18th AKWAABA Africa Travel and Tourism Market takes place from October 30 to November 1.
