I have the honour on behalf of the Secretary General, and on my own
behalf, to welcome you all to the East African Community Joint event. As we
draw close to the end of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate and thank the Republic of Kenya for having ably steered the
affairs of the East African Community for the year 2012. May I also extend my sincere gratitude to the Kenyan
High Commission and the Kenya Tourism Board for their cooperation and
enthusiasm in providing much needed support to the Secretariat in preparing for
this event. Furthermore, we would like to thank and applaud the continued
cooperation and support from all Diplomatic Missions representing the EAC
Partner States in the United Kingdom and who are here present today. It shows
the spirit and commitment by Partner States through which collectively we
continue to deepen and widen our integration.
Allow me to highlight
a few of our key milestones and developments in the Tourism and Wildlife sectors
in the last few years for you to grasp the opportunities and tasks that lie ahead
of us which are being explored and implemented in order to fully and sustainably
utilize our resources as a region. It is
worth noting that the region has already started harmonizing hospitality services
and the policies and laws in tourism and wildlife sectors. Furthermore, we have
embarked on the operationalization of the Common Market Protocol and positioning
ourselves to the various changes and challenges that this process will spark as
a result. It is my hope that once we achieve complete free movement of our
people and skills especially in this vibrant industry, the sky will be the
limit. That is why, we are already looking forward to reviewing our marketing
and branding strategies which will project the Destination East Africa as ‘a Destination of Wonders and
Opportunities’.
My role here today is to welcome our Guest of Honor
the Honourable Minister, and request him to share this year’s joint message
with the rest of us in respect to regional integration in this sector. But
before I do so, I
would like to touch on a subject that I know is very close to our hearts and businesses. In the
recent months, the region
has had to battle with various challenges regarding terrorism and other related
security scares that have shaken the world’s perception of the safety and
security of our region. This is why I would like to inform the global community that our region is safe
for tourists and our countries have taken all necessary measures to assure
visitors of their safety and security including the introduction of the tourism
police units, improvement of infrastructure in our vibrant cities such as
lighting and improved road accessibility to reduce “hot spots”.
With those few
remarks, it is now my honour to introduce and warmly welcome the Honourable Minister,
Danson Mwazo Minister of Tourism Kenya and Chairperson of the Sectoral Council
on Tourism and Wildlife for the East African Community to give his statement.
With those few
remarks, it is now my honour to introduce and warmly welcome the Honourable Minister,
Danson Mwazo Minister of Tourism Kenya and Chairperson of the Sectoral Council
on Tourism and Wildlife for the East African Community to give his statement.
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SECRETARIAT
PRESS STATEMENT
EAST AFRICA, A SECURE DESTINATION OF WONDERS AND
OPPORTUNITIES
Statement by the Hon. Danson Mwazo Minister of Tourism,
Chairperson of the Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management
At the EAC Joint Event held on 7th November,
2012
At the World Travel Market in London
The East African Community Partner States of the
Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and The United Republic of Tanzania
have together set a pace in achieving fundamental stages of regional
integration in the tourism and wildlife management sectors. The joint statement
at the World Travel Market in London this year focuses on three main aspects:
our regional achievements to date and where we are going; our safety and
security; and lastly, a new innovative way to promote the region as a single
tourism destination.
The
EAC Partner States have embarked on the process of operationalizing the Common
Market Protocol. This will facilitate the free movement of people, skills,
goods and services. One
great milestone that will enhance trade and movement of goods and services especially
favored in the hospitality and travel industry is the removal of non- tariff
barriers and enhancing a free trade area. Furthermore, the region seeks to introduce a
single currency under a monetary union. The monetary union in the EAC with a
combined population estimated at 135 million and with a collective GDP of US$ 79.25
billion will have a great positive economic impact for the entire Region.
The
tourism sector has also started harmonizing hospitality services policies and
laws in the region in anticipation for a full cooperation and to sustainably
utilize our resources as a region. Harmonization of hospitality services
includes a focus on quality and not quantity whereas, the harmonization of
policies and laws will develop mechanisms on the movement of people and skills
in this vibrant industry to ensure the standards of quality in hospitality are
met and the promotion of a Single Tourist Destination is achieved.
However, striking the delicate balance between
developing creative “products” that will continuously attract visitors to the
region and sustaining the natural resources we have been blessed with, requires
measures to be undertaken that will ensure the conservation and sustainable
utilization of wildlife and other tourist sites in the region by harmonizing
policies for the conservation of wildlife within and outside protected areas,
adopting common policies on wildlife management and development, joint efforts
in controlling and monitoring encroachment and poaching activities, common use
of training and research facilities, and lastly developing common management
plans for trans-border protected areas.
With regard to safety and security in the region and
taking note of the recent terrorist attacks in parts of the Community, the Ministers
responsible for tourism have agreed that Partner States should fully address
the negative image portrayed and subsequent negative travel advisories issued.
In this regard we will employ a positive outlook on the regional approach taken
to combat these challenges about the East African tourism destinations.
This is not a new commitment, however, it has been
given new impetus due to the increasing threats and now we resolve to take joint efforts to reacting against and
addressing negative travel advisories that include:
i.
adopting a proactive approach to pre-empt the issuing of such negative
travel advisories such as consulting safety and security aspects in each
country by giving relevant updates on travel information within East Africa and
to the international travellers;
ii.
endeavour to report honestly and use the isolation strategy, to assure
the people of the Community and their visitors that adequate security is provided;
and
iii.
address any negative travel advisory (travel warning) jointly as a Community
through a general statement issued by the East African Community Secretariat
through the Secretary General to:
a)
Whoever has issued the negative advisories;
b)
Partner States Missions Abroad; and
c)
Any global tourism forum/event like this one that will be able to
communicate the message effectively.
Furthermore, the Tourism Trade Associations are urged to ensure
continuous dialogue with all Commonwealth member countries and to advise Commonwealth member countries to notify the
Secretariat before publishing any travel warnings.
Finally, the promotion of the EAC as a Single
Tourism Destination is an ongoing task and innovative strategies are always
sought to achieve this objective. This year, we introduce a new product that will
be a powerful platform to collate and communicate credible Regional information
on the Tourism/ travel sector. The Regional Travel Round about East Africa Magazine.
It will be available to regional airlines in the EAC zone, Embassies, High Commissions,
other Missions Abroad,
and to key stakeholders especially those that endeavor to promote the Region as
a Single Tourist Destination.
The magazine intends to provide important and
interesting information in different forms about the region to travelers and
tourists moving around the East Africa Community. This magazine will compliment
what is provided by other tourist guide books available globally and will also
be available on the EAC website.
In addition, it will provide credible information for
planning purposes, and strategically be a channel of communication when
addressing various challenges such as the travel advisories mentioned earlier.
In conclusion, the global community is welcome to
East Africa, a secure and safe‘ Destination
of Wonders and Opportunities’. Your visit will remain as memorable and unmatched
preferred destination.
Thank you.
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
November, 2012
