Chakwera advises tourism players to also be innovative in marketing the industry for local tourists

* Most of the hospitality destinations are usually restrictive to local Malawian tourists

* Through exorbitant prices, mostly quoted in foreign currency, while those owned by foreign investors bar casual walk-ins

By Rachel Gonani, MANA

At the end of the 4th edition of Takulandirani Malawi 2023 Tourism Expo in Lilongwe, President Lazarus Chakwera took cognizance that players in the tourism industry focus on tailoring their products and services for international visitors only — and he challenged them to also target locals.

Most of the hospitality destinations are usually restrictive to local Malawian tourists through exorbitant prices, mostly quoted in foreign currency, while those owned by foreign investors bar casual walk-ins.

Thus the President asking the sector’s players to be innovative enough to woo more Malawians to be passionate local tourists.

He also indicated that government will urgently address bottlenecks chocking the potential of tourism in order to recover from the losses suffered due to CoVID-19 and cholera pandemics alongside the Cyclone Freddy-induced devastation.

Government has also made commitments to remove visa fees from other key frequent visitors, coordinate with other Southern Africa Development Committee  (SADC) countries to tailor multi-country tourism and improve airports and other key travel infrastructure such as roads, rail and water transport.

Chakwera described the two-day expo under the theme: ‘We’re Back, Ipatse Moto’ as a success, further committing government’s support to harness the industry’s potential, saying: “I am inspired by the economic prospects of our tourism industry as demonstrated by this expo.

“The country is ready to go big on tourism and my joining of this expo is to demonstrate government’s unwavering commitment to revolutionise the economy.”

He thus said there is need for heavy investment in tourism through aspects beyond monetary resources and called for collaboration in boosting the industry from all key stakeholders.

“We must clear obstacles in our tourism industry and turn them into opportunities. Malawi is determined to address structural, administrative, legal and behavioural issues in our tourism sector in order to make the most of the industry.

“In a global village, we cannot afford to deprive ourselves of opportunities to generate revenue. Tourism players should not work in isolation but coordinate,” he said.

The government is to support a 20-year National Tourism Investment Master Plan as a complementary component to the MW2063 where tourism is one of the three main enablers.

Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule said the expo received overwhelmed patronage, saying it welcomed 115 exhibitors instead of the planned 65.

“More people wanted to be part of it but the Ministry had run out of space,” she said. “We had international buyers and exhibitors from as far as Europe and all over Africa. They all want to business with us. They are all helping us sell our country to the world.”

She added that the country will ride on the momentum created by the expo, saying it is an indication of Malawi’s resilience owing to different crises the country has faced in the recent past.

“Going forward, we have developed a monitoring system to track progress in the industry with quarterly updates,” she said.

Malawi Tourism Council chairperson, Justice Dzinkambani hailed the leadership for all efforts it is making to recover from what he termed “tough times” — but implored on government to speed up rehabilitation and construction of roads in key tourist destinations.

He singled out the M5 road which he said deters tourists from accessing Nkhotakota Game Reserve, which is home to several wildlife species of interest.

The theme of expo was developed in respect to the three-year break the country took in hosting the event against widespread international travel restrictions in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.